


The Art of Breaking

by wleeorr



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: And probably get sadder, Hurt/Comfort, I apologize in advance, M/M, Major Illness, Rare Pair, Slow Burn, Things are going to be awkward, and sad, potential manga spoilers, really extremely slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-11-06 06:45:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wleeorr/pseuds/wleeorr
Summary: Just what the hell was going on?! What were they thinking forcing Oikawa into retirement when all the other third years were still allowed to play?! Nothing about that made any sense! Had he injured himself? Maybe that was it? But, even then, he found it difficult to believe that his stubborn senpai would willingly give up the sport. Especially when he'd always been so adamant about defeating him. There was no way he'd miss out on a setter battle unless he had no choice in the matter. Was that it, though? Was there really no other choice?(Written off-canon starting after the Karasuno x Wakunan match.)





	1. Unsettling Changes

The battle against Wakunan had been won. All that remained was for Karasuno to find out which team was going to be the next on their agenda to take down - Seijou or Dateko. They were both strong teams, and bad match ups for the crows. Though he would have been pleased to play a game against either, Tobio was more anxious to go up against Aoba Johsai. He wanted to win. He wanted to beat Oikawa after being so thoroughly defeated by him the last time. It would be his last chance to do so before his senpai went off to university.

Or, it should have been. Once they were seated in the stands to watch the match, Tobio noticed something integral missing. Oikawa wasn't there. Iwaizumi was, as were the other two third years who remained on Seijou's starting team, so there was no way Oikawa would have retired. Right? He was as hopelessly ingrained with the sport as Tobio himself was, and yet...their number six was playing the part of setter for the team.

"I don't see the grand king." Hinata spoke up beside him, hands on his knees as he leant forward to get as close a look as he could of the court without going straight to the railing.

"That could be a blessing." Sugawara chuckled, casting a smile at Daichi first and the freak duo second.

"I wanted to fight him!" the decoy and Karasuno's spoke nigh in unison, a groan leaving the latter as he scruffed his hands through his hair.

Kageyama was aware of all that was being said around him, but his focus was pinpointed on the court. He kept expecting Oikawa to show up. Maybe he'd gotten injured and been sent off court? A glance at the scoring in the second set showed him that they were neck and neck, even without their main setter being there. Seijou was a good team, even without Oikawa, but they were undoubtedly better with him. He had no doubt in his mind that the separation in scores would be far more noticeable with his senpai on the court.

The end of the match came quicker than expected, and no players were taken in or out of the game. Aoba Johsai won, but by a hair's breadth. Twenty-four to twenty-six in the second set. Karasuno knew who they were facing, but would their setter remain the same? Discomfort settled in Tobio's stomach as he got up to leave with the rest of his team, hazarding a single glance towards the white and teal retreating backs of their next rival before focusing forward.

***

Oikawa never showed up. The battle between Karasuno and Seijou had still been close, but the crows managed to take the other team down by the end of the second set. It felt...unremarkable. They'd won, but Tobio felt an overwhelming amount of defeat. He'd beat his senpai's team, but he hadn't beat his senpai. 

Both sides shook hands beneath the net, the coaches went through their spiels, and then it was time to head home after a short break. He didn't feel happy. He'd gotten to play volleyball. They'd won all of their games. But...there was no joy. Instead, Kageyama felt a burning sense of unease resonating in his very core.

While Karasuno rested outside the gym, the setter went off to the restroom. It was on his way back that he ran into Kindaichi and Kunimi. In different circumstances, he may have held his tongue. As it was, he spoke up with an unintelligent, "Uhm..." as his opening statement.

There were tears in Kindaichi's eyes, visible anger on his face as he clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. Kunimi's brow furrowed, though he had no comment as they began walking past.

"Oikawa-san." Tobio spoke up in passing, his old teammates stopping at his side. Kindaichi was still looking at anything but his former setter, but Kunimi had honed in on him, "Why wasn't--." he started to say before he was cut off.

"He retired." Kunimi replied, only deciding to continue on once he saw the shock on the crow's face, "...He was  _forced_ to retire." he emphasized, "That said, it isn't my place to tell you more." 

Tobio looked like he was frozen in the surprise following a bullet wound for several seconds before what must have been resentment overtook his features, "What do you mean he was forced to retire?!"

"He said it's not his place to say!" Kindaichi bit out, finally turning a wet and snotty face on his former teammate, jaw setting as he marched off. Kunimi's gaze only remained on Kageyama for a couple seconds after the outburst before giving a slight nod of his head as he turned and followed along.

_Just what the hell was going on?! What were they thinking forcing Oikawa into retirement when all the other third years were still allowed to play?! Nothing about that made any sense! Had he injured himself? Maybe that was it? But, even then, he found it difficult to believe that his stubborn senpai would willingly give up the sport. Especially when he'd always been so adamant about defeating him. There was no way he'd miss out on a setter battle unless he had no choice in the matter. Was that it, though? Was there really no other choice?_

Before he knew it, he'd returned to his team, his feet moving on their own to puppet his body to its destination while his thoughts ran rampant. It took Hinata three times of saying Kageyama's name for him to realize he was being spoken to - responding with a decisive 'Shut up, dumbass!' that had noticeably more bite to it than usual.

"Now, now," Suga piped up, fixing the duo with a smile.

Hinata's hands were up at the ready as though expecting to be hit, but no such abuse ever came and he lowered his arms a few moments later.

"Alright everyone." Coach Ukai approached with Takeda-sensei in tow, "If we're all here," he gave a look around to make sure all familiar faces were there and accounted for, "grab your things so we can start heading for the bus. We'll be leaving soon, so this is your last chance to use the restroom." when no one moved to leave, he started the procession of leading his team out of the building.

It didn't take long to get everyone on the bus. Within minutes of them pulling out of the lot, half the players were already asleep. Kageyama's cheek was pressed to the window, eyes narrowed on the scenery as it passed them by. His thoughts were still sprinting twenty minutes into the trip before he finally succumbed and drifted off with the rest.

***

Remarkably, Tobio turned down Hinata's request for tosses that evening when they returned to school. He was certain he wouldn't be able to focus enough to give him the tosses he wanted, so it wouldn't end up being practice for either of them. It was dark by the time he got home, but neither of his parents were home. That was hardly surprising. Both of them worked odd hours, and he rarely got the chance to see them as it was. If not for the fact that he always had meals prepared for him to heat up, he'd think he was living there all by himself.

There was a container of something covered in tinfoil with a note on it in the fridge. He scooped out a portion of the roast and vegetables into a bowl and microwaved them until warm. Chopsticks in hand, Tobio set out to his room to sit at his desk while he ate. When he was halfway through his dinner, a thought crossed his mind - potent enough to get him up out of his chair and to his bookshelf to thumb through and pull out three pamphlets he'd held onto since middle school. There was one for each year he'd been there, grabbing the earliest one and flipping through until he found the directory. It didn't take him long to find the name he was looking for, grabbing up his cell and plugging in the number before lifting the receiver to his ear.

Five rings in, he considered hanging up. There was a strong chance the number wasn't even connected to the right person anymore; but, after the sixth ring, a gruff voice sounded out a greeting on the other end.

"Iwaizumi-san?" Tobio asked.

"Yeah?" Hajime responded unsurely.

Good! The number still belonged to him, "Why did Oikawa-san retire?" the question sprung out, blunt and to the point.

There was white noise for several seconds following before that gruff voice replied, "...Who the hell is this?" sounding considerably more terse than he had when he'd answered.

"Kageyama Tobio."

Again, silence. Longer this time. Long enough that Tobio started to open his mouth to question whether or not he'd been hung up on until Iwaizumi broke back in, "He's not well." he cleared his throat with purpose once he was able to get the response out.

A frown creased the setter's brow, "...Will he be returning?" the way he'd spoken had always been insensitive, and often times impolite, but at least he made an attempt at sounding more 'mature' when he spoke to Iwaizumi. It was a completely different experience than speaking with his own teammates.

There was an audible, drawn out breath on the other side and an even longer exhale that led into an exasperated groan at the end, "We're not sure."

Tobio felt his stomach clench. He didn't  _like_ Oikawa, but he respected him. He was terrified to be on the other side of the net from him, but there was no one else he'd feel more proud over beating. What they felt for one another was so close to hate without ever actually touching it, but...he wanted to keep Oikawa around as a rival. No one pushed him to improve like his senpai, even if the ways in which he pushed were far from healthy. For either of them.

"Kageyama-kun?" Iwaizumi's voice broke through his thoughts, rooting him back in the moment.

"Yes?"

"...I can't say he'll want to hear from you, but..." Hajime trailed, "If you manage to kick Shiratorizawa's ass, give me another call. If nothing else, I'm sure he'll want details about how Ushijima went down." be they from the horse's mouth, or from Hajime reiterating what'd been said to him.

"Ah. Mm." he nodded, despite no one being there to see him do it.

The call ended shortly thereafter and Tobio returned to his meal. Or...he tried to. The remnants were more pushed around his bowl than eaten. When he gave up on getting anymore down, he returned the leftovers to the fridge and grabbed himself a glass of milk to head to bed with. The television was flicked on and a sports station was found to fill in the silence of the room. His mind wandered as his glass was emptied, ridding himself of it and letting the quiet buzz of the announcers on screen lull him off to sleep. Despite his general unrest, the activity of the day knocked him out cold. He didn't open his eyes once until his alarm went off the following morning.


	2. The Win

To everyone’s surprise, they won. Tobio hadn’t let the happenings of the day prior get in the way of him performing his best when the game began. Karasuno had fought head to head with Shiratorizawa through the entire five sets, and they’d come out on top. It’d been far from an easy win, but that only made the other team’s defeat that much more enjoyable to savor.

 

A part of him was reveling in the excitement following the match. He was exhausted, but he wanted to play more. If Hinata asked him to toss for him again, he’d be hard pressed to tell him ‘no’. Still, there was yet another part of him that earnestly wanted to get his call made to Iwaizumi. He wanted Oikawa to know what he’d done. What his team had done. Tobio wasn’t sure that his senpai would necessarily be _happy_ to learn about something like that because it was _him_ who’d played an integral part in Shiratorizawa’s defeat, and he certainly wasn’t expecting any semblance of pride from the other setter, but he had to think that Oikawa would at least be pleased to know that Ushijima wouldn’t be headed to nationals this time. Someone had finally shut him and his team down, even if it hadn’t been Seijou that’d done it.

 

For once, the request for tosses didn’t come. When they’d returned to school, everyone headed home - full and happy from their celebratory meal. Kageyama and Hinata walked together a portion of the way before the decoy had to fork off from him on his bike. That left the setter on his own in the dimming evening hours. With no one around, he took the opportunity to pluck his phone from his pocket and scroll through his thin grouping of contacts to click on the most recent addition.

 

Two rings was all it took this time before Iwaizumi answered, “How’d it go?” was the first thing out of his mouth to replace a greeting.

 

“We won in the fifth set.” Kageyama was aware of a dull beeping in the background on the other end of the phone, but he tried to ignore it.

 

Hajime whistled his surprise into the receiver, an audible smirk on his lips, “Good job.” unlike Oikawa, Iwaizumi seemed to hold no ill feelings towards his former kouhai.

 

“Mm.” There was a secondary voice in the background of the call, but Tobio couldn’t make out anything the other party was saying.

 

“What? No, you idiot. Just lay there and act sick.” became Iwaizumi’s disjointed response to the muffled second party. Tobio’s brows screwed together, but he held his tongue as he pressed the cell that much tighter to his ear to see if he could catch anything else. His pace had slowed to a crawl without him even realizing, his house a ways off yet, “T’ch. Fine.” there was some rustling, along with a dull clicking sound, and then Hajime spoke back up--but his voice sounded more distant than it had before, “Say hello, Kageyama-kun.”

 

“Eeeeh?!” came the other party’s voice, groggy and pitched.

 

Had he been put on speaker phone? “...Hello?” Tobio spoke, slow and unsure.

 

“No way. Why the hell do you have _him_ on the phone?” now he was certain the other party was Oikawa, “I’m trying to get _better_ , not _worse_. Hang up Iwa-chan, or I’m going to be sick.”

 

The younger setter’s brow creased as a familiar annoyance rose in his chest, “Iwaizumi-sa…”

 

Seijou’s ace cut him off before he could get anymore out, “I _asked_ him to call me if Karasuno won the match against Shiratorizawa.”

 

There were several seconds of silence, only filled in by the steady beeping of machinery in the background, and then Oikawa was piping up again once he’d put two and two together, “How the hell did they win?!” his tone equal parts shocked and annoyed.

 

“Yeah, Kageyama-kun. How did you win?” Iwaizumi interjected helpfully. The sound of rustling told Tobio that the phone had been set down. Those steady beeps were louder now, but far from overpowering.

 

“Uhm…” he began, “We lost two sets and won three.”

 

Again, silence--and then Oikawa was puffing out a boisterous sound of amusement, “For a second there, I almost forgot that you’re actually an idiot. How silly of me.”

 

A deep frown fell over Tobio’s features. He really should’ve been accustomed to his senpai’s form of harassment by now, but it never failed to irk him, “We were able to cut off Ushijima’s attacks.” not many of them, but enough that it made a difference. Enough that the other team, and Ushijima especially, had been feeling it by the time the fifth set came to a close.

 

“Impressive.” Iwaizumi chimed in, which profited a tongue click from Oikawa, “And what was Ushiwaka’s response to getting defeated?”

 

“He…” Tobio’s brow forwarded, “...didn’t really react.” not from what he could remember, but he’d been pretty stirred up following the match. Stirred up and exhausted, “He told me and Hinata that he’d defeat us next time.”

 

“Hah! I wonder _when_ he expects _that_ to happen.” Oikawa scoffed, “I’m not surprised that he had no reaction. He’s a pretty boring guy.” he breathed through a thoughtful pause and continued on after a sigh, “Boring and annoying. A little like you, Tobio-chan~.” that razz gave Kageyama a familiar throb in his temple.

 

The sound of a door clicking open in the background silenced the conversation, a tertiary female voice entering into the void. Tobio was sure he’d heard Oikawa’s name spoken, but he didn’t catch anything else.

 

“We’re going to have to let you go, Kageyama.” Iwaizumi took the phone off speaker as he lifted it to his ear, “Thanks for calling.” he barely waited for a response before the line went dead.

 

Tobio stopped walking and pulled the cell back to look at the screen, watching it go black to signify the call was well and truly over. He was accustomed to Oikawa being rude, but he wasn’t so used to it coming from Iwaizumi. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off and checked the time. His parents were supposed to be home that evening. With the promise of actual warm bodies being there to greet him when he walked through the door, Tobio picked up the pace and turned the last corner that would take him to his house.

 

***

 

When Tobio asked Coach Ukai if he could get a copy of their game one evening following practice, it only took him two days to turn the request around. The team were sat down to watch through so they could see what they did right, wrong, and in between. Tobio may have been the one to ask for it, but it ended up being a learning experience for the crows that had each of them going home with a homemade DVD for their personal perusal.

 

“I never realized we’d look so cool out there!” Hinata piped up as they set off on their way home, flashing a toothy grin at the setter, “It feels like I’m soaring when I’m on the court, but it doesn’t look that high from ground level.”

 

“Of course not, dumbass. You’re jumping just as high as everyone else.” technically, he was traveling a further distance, but he still ended up coming head to head with the rest of the team, “You didn’t look very cool when you took a ball to the face.” he pointed out, pocketing his hands and thumbing over the sleeping screen of his phone.

 

“Cheh!” Hinata’s face warmed as he fixed Kageyama with an annoyed look, “Shut up! I kept the ball in play with my face! Don’t complain!”

 

A brow raised as he looked down at the other, “I wasn’t complaining.” he was stating a fact.

 

“Y...yeah well. Just shut up about it then!” Hinata huffed, focusing forward as he walked his bike towards the fork in the road where they usually split off from one another, “We won, and that’s what counts.”

 

“Mm.” an agreeable nod from Tobio was the lackluster response received. The fact that he hadn’t felt fulfilled after beating Aoba Johsai didn’t translate to the way he felt after beating Shiratorizawa. He was pleased over the win. They’d defeated the person they’d set out to, and the rest of the team had been a challenge right alongside him.

 

Hinata threw his leg over his bike, pressing down on the pedal to steady himself, “See you tomorrow.” he hiked his other foot up onto the opposite pedal and set off down the road with a single wave back towards his teammate.

 

Tobio watched him go off, loosing a yawn as he turned on a heel to make his way home. It wasn’t until he was nearly at his front door when he was struck with an idea, retrieving his phone from his pocket. Rather than making a call, he settled with sending off a text: _Would you and Oikawa-san want to see the game?_

 

He watched the screen and waited, his surroundings getting progressively darker before the cell lit up with a response: _Shiratorizawa v Karasuno?_

 

Tobio’s thumb moved over the letters on screen, hitting send: _Yes. I have a copy._

 

The response wasn’t nearly as immediate as the first one had been. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, lips pressing into a line before he decided to send out one more text to follow: _I can bring it to you._

 

 _Sure._ Was received almost in time with him sending out the follow up text, getting another immediately after: _When?_

 

He checked the time on his phone. It was late, but he knew there’d still be buses running to cart him across town: _Now?_ His thumb stopped before hitting the send button. Would that be too soon? It wasn’t like he was in any hurry to see Iwaizumi or Oikawa, but he didn’t have any other pressing matters to attend to either. Tobio’s hesitation lasted a total of ten seconds before he tapped the message through. Only then did he decide it was time to head inside. If he was going to go anywhere else, he at least needed to take a shower first.

 

His phone didn’t go off again until he was in the bathroom and on the verge of removing his last layer of clothing: _I’ll send you the address._


	3. He's Not Well

“Why weren’t you answering my texts?!” Kageyama barked into the receiver when Hinata picked up the line.

 

“What texts?? When do you ever text me?! I didn’t even know you knew _how_ to text!” he bit back out from the other end, “What were you texting about??”

 

“I’m hanging up. Read them.” the call ended abruptly and Kageyama marched downstairs to throw a protein bar down his throat. He was hungry, but he wasn’t going to waste time on a meal.

 

 _Wait, what?!_ His screen brightened on the counter beside him. _You’re really going to see the grand king?_

 

 _Obviously, dumbass._ As though he’d joke about something like that. While he had good intentions when he’d offered to bring the DVD to Iwaizumi and Oikawa, he hadn’t thought it out very well. Tobio felt nervous at the idea of showing up on his own. He wasn’t even sure whether or not he was going to be allowed to see Oikawa, or if he was only going to be meeting up with Iwaizumi for the exchange. The latter sounded far less intimidating. Whatever the case may have been, he wanted to be prepared for all eventualities.

 

 _And you want me to go with you?_ The screen lit up again as the question came through.

 

 _That’s what I said!_ He poked the send button roughly, tossing the last bite of food into his mouth as he waited for whatever idiotic response came next.

 

 _Let me clear it up with my mom and I’ll meet you outside Sakanoshita._ It’d be a considerably longer trip into town for Hinata than it would be for himself, but he knew his teammate could ride with urgency if the moment called for it.

 

 _See you there._ He double checked to make sure the DVD was on his person before throwing on his shoes and heading out the door.

 

***

 

“So, he’s in the hospital?” Hinata looked windswept, still wearing his sweat stained trainers as he sat beside Tobio on the bus.

 

Kageyama was wearing something similar, but at least they weren’t the same clothes he’d had on at practice, “Apparently. Unless I was given the wrong address.” though, he couldn’t imagine Iwaizumi doing something like that.

 

“It must be pretty bad if he can’t play volleyball.”

 

“Mm.” Tobio nodded, glancing outside to see where they were before focusing back on his phone. He’d taken the bus they were currently on a time or two in the past, but only ever as far as Aoba Johsai, and certainly never so late in the day. If the schedule he’d read was correct, the hospital was a couple stops beyond the school.

 

“I guess he’ll probably appreciate being able to watch it, even if he can’t play it.” Hinata didn’t know Oikawa very well, but he’d seen the sort of passion he held for the game just by watching him on the other side of the net.

 

“Maybe.” Tobio shrugged, “Or he’ll be angry.” he knew _he’d_ be pretty angry if he had to watch and not play. There was no way he’d survive if things ever came down to that.

 

“Could be.” Hinata shrugged noncommittally, unable to say for sure one way or another, “He might just get angry over seeing you.”

 

They passed the school by when no one else on the bus depressed the button for a stop request, Tobio tapping a finger against the window when he saw it, “There’s Seijou. Our stop should be in a few blocks.”

 

The little decoy turned on the spot to kneel in his seat, hands palming the window to watch the campus as they continued on past, “I forgot how big it was.” once it was out of range, he turned himself back around to take a seat, “It’s not as big as Shiratorizawa, but still really big.”

 

Tobio could feel nervous energy building in his stomach. His arms stretched overhead to try and get rid of some of it, yawning as they fell back towards his person and palmed over the bookbag currently laying across his lap. A stop request dinged for the next street on the route, their bus coming to a standstill and idling while two of its current passengers climbed off. An older man took his time getting onboard, the setter’s heel dancing on the floor as he watched and waited until they were back in gear.

 

Now it was his turn to press the glowing red button nearby, another chime going off that signified one of the passengers would need off soon. Tobio checked the address on his phone one more time to make sure he had the room number correct as they reached their street, the glow of the hospital becoming visible as they approached. Once the brakes were put on and the bus idled again, the crows climbed off and set their course towards the tremendous building before them.

 

“What floor is he on?” Hinata asked.

 

“Huh? Oh. Uh...room three-o-two, so...the third floor?” that was how these things worked, wasn’t it? Tobio would never claim to be brilliant; but, from experience, that seemed to be the way building room numbers tended to be laid out.

 

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

 

“ _Telling!_ ” he bit back, sending a heated look at Hinata when he heard the other puff out a laugh at his expense.

 

“Bakayama-kun~.” the decoy teased, taking a couple measured steps backwards out of Kageyama’s reach to avoid getting hit, “Lead the way to the third floor.” he held up three fingers helpfully, flinching at the glare he received from his teammate before wandering after him once he made for the automatic double doors.

 

***

 

The two idiots got lost no less than twice on their way to find Oikawa’s room, knocking delicately on the door once they found it before pressing it open, “Pardon the intrusion…” Tobio murmured upon entry, the familiar sound of beeping that he’d heard on the phone now filling the space.

 

Hinata was on his tail, maintaining his considerably taller teammate as a shield until he was certain it was safe. Iwaizumi had been bobbing in and out of sleep, Tobio’s voice managing to rouse him enough that his focus turned from the muted television hanging on the wall to his former kouhai, “Yo.” hands lifted to scrub sleep away from his eyes, gesturing to the extra chairs in the room, “Decided to bring a friend?”

 

“H-hello!” Hinata said just on the edge of too loud, head bowing forward in greeting.

 

Tobio’s gaze had moved past Iwaizumi and onto the bed behind him where a headful of brown curls was turned away from them, “You’re lucky. He’s been asleep for the past hour.” Iwaizumi said, a smirk on his lips when Tobio’s focus turned from setter to ace.

 

“Ah. The DVD.” he pulled his book bag around to his front, digging around inside to find which pocket he’d placed it in.

 

“Sit.” Iwaizumi’s voice was stern, but noticeably exhausted, and both of the crows found themselves sitting across from him without question - Tobio’s hand retreating from the bag, “Sorry. I could use someone to help keep me awake.”

 

“No, no, it’s fine!” Hinata piped up, “I had to stay in the hospital with my sister one time when she was really sick. It can get really exhausting. And sort of lonely.” especially for someone like him who was a social butterfly with an endless supply of energy. Sitting still and quiet wasn’t something he could manage for long periods of time unless he absolutely had to.

 

Iwaizumi scoffed, though he did nod in acknowledgement of the sentiment, “He’s had other visitors, so it hasn’t been terrible.” his lips flattened into a line, “Except his fangirls.” he could’ve dealt without those.

 

“Oooh! The ‘kya kya’ girls?” Hinata’s hands waved at his sides to personify what he was talking about, “They’re really loud at the games.”

 

“They’re louder in tight spaces.” he muttered.

 

The taut lines of nervousness in the small crow’s body were already starting to soften, chuckling at the very idea of Seijou’s ace dealing with that, “I can imagine.”

 

“...What’s wrong with him?” Tobio finally chimed in. While Iwaizumi and Hinata had their back and forth, his eyes had been trained on the sleeping form of his senpai. With them sitting near the bottom of his bed, he’d obtained a better view of the setter’s face. He looked...haggard.

 

Hajime followed his gaze, brows furrowing as he focused on his friend. It looked like he was contemplating whether or not he should say anything in response before sighing as he lounged back heavily in his seat, “His leg has been bothering him for a while. More than usual. Talked him into going to the doctor…” his voice trailed, cutting the story short with a lazy roll of his shoulders, “Turned out to be Osteosarcoma.” he was far from surprised by the vacant looks he received from the other two, “Bone cancer.” he tapped his own knee to emphasize where, “They caught it early enough that it hasn’t spread, as far as they can tell, but...he’s going through a course of chemo right now to shrink the tumor for surgery. So, he’s acting like he’s dying and he looks like shit.” seemingly belittling the hell Oikawa no doubt was in.

 

“So rude…” came a bleary, grumbled voice from the bed.

 

It was too much information to absorb all at once, and Tobio found himself doing little more than staring at Iwaizumi before Oikawa’s voice sounded across from him. His gaze quickly flickered over to his senpai in time to watch him roll over onto his back. Dark circles beneath his eyes accentuated the glare he fixed his kouhai with before turning the same look onto Iwaizumi.

 

“What? You were obviously awake. I was doing us all a favor.” Hajime smirked, ever the strong facade.

 

The taut lines had returned to the decoy’s body, but that visible stiffness melted into pity as he watched Oikawa move sluggishly to sit up, “I was hoping I could stay ‘asleep’ until we were _alone_.” a sharp look stung its way back towards the crows to emphasize his words before he slouched into the pillows behind himself.

 

“S-sorry!” Hinata stuttered out, palming his knees and bowing his upper half forward, “I’m sorry for what you’re going through!”

 

Tobio finally took the time to drag that DVD out of his bag while everything else was going on around him, offering it towards Iwaizumi rather than trying to give it directly to Oikawa, “Here.”

 

“Yeah. Thanks.” he took it from the other and grabbed up a bag lying nearby to pull a laptop from within that was hardly bigger than a tablet, “Still has almost a full charge.” after pushing some wires and tubes aside, Iwaizumi settled the computer on the edge of Oikawa’s bed where they could both see the screen - inserting the disc.

 

Tobio exchanged looks with Hinata and they gave a decisive nod at one another before standing up in near unison, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Oikawa’s voice rang out, stopping them in their tracks. He wasn’t looking at them, but he did gesture to the opposite side of his bed, “If I’m being forced to watch this, then you’re going to be forced to sit through it with me.”

 

“If you don’t want to watch it, we won’t watch it.” Iwaizumi started closing the lid before Oikawa stopped his hand, amusement spreading across his features as he opened the case right back up again, “Sorry, your highness.”

 

“You’re really not nice.” Tooru huffed.

 

Another exchange of looks, and Tobio and Hinata both moved their chairs around to the spot they’d been motioned towards, reclaiming their seats now that they could see the screen, “We watched it earlier…” Tobio began.

 

“I said _sit_ , Tobio-chan.” he still wouldn’t look their way, but the elder setter persistently cut him off as Hajime hit play.


	4. Senpai and Kouhai

Oikawa got in his fair share of comments throughout the viewing, “The first set didn’t go very well at all, did it?” he seemed to be pleased by that fact. Seijou may not have ever beaten Shiratorizawa in a match, but they’d always managed to keep their scores close, “I see megane-kun learned how to block.” Tooru hummed out, narrowly hiding a flinch when he bumped the IV in his hand, “I should say, he’s learned how to block  _ better _ .” because that guy had certainly known what he was doing before, he just hadn’t seemed to have the ambition to turn it up to the next notch, “That freak quick of yours didn’t work very well against them, I see~.” Tooru crooned, not so much as attempting to hide the shit eating grin on his face.

 

“Not  _ every _ time.” Tobio cut in, locking a look onto his senpai only briefly before his focus returned to the screen.

 

“But we still got some through!” Hinata added.

 

“Well, it helps when you open your eyes and learn how to aim, I’m sure.” Oikawa grinned, getting lightly jostled by a push from Iwaizumi.

 

“Shut up and watch. Stop being an ass.”

 

“T’ch, I’m sick. You have to be nice to me.”

 

“Says who?”

 

Oikawa squinted at Iwaizumi for several seconds before rolling his eyes, tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth, “If not for your libero, I think the match would’ve turned out much different.” he’d managed to send backhanded compliments to a couple of Karasuno’s players, but he was purposely evading giving any to the two crows in the room.

 

“Oh. Nice toss.” Hajime congratulating the younger setter in his terribly rude best friend’s stead.

 

Tobio straightened in surprise, tipping his head in what was meant to be a shallow bow, “Thank you!”

 

“Nice spike!” this time, it was a compliment for the shrimp.

 

Hinata looked only too pleased, cheeks filling in with color as he sent his own ‘Thanks!’ back to the ace.

 

“Dammit, Iwa-chan. You’re supposed to be on my side here.” Oikawa clucked, maintaining an annoyed look as his gaze wavered off the screen and he paled. The hand not currently hooked up to a bag of saline was lifted to his mouth, covering over it as his eyes pinched shut, “Iwa…” all terseness suddenly draining from his voice as he turned towards the other.

 

“Shit. Yeah.” there was a small bin with a fresh trash bag in it sitting beside the bed which Iwaizumi grabbed up and held out in time for Tooru to retch bile into the receptacle. 

 

The game continued on as white noise in the background while all eyes fell on Oikawa. Even without anything else coming up, his stomach heaved on repeat. It was trying to rid itself of a poison that was bone deep. Vomiting certainly wasn’t helping the problem, but it wasn’t like he had any control over whether or not his body revolted,  “D...dammit.” he finally got out when his stomach decided to calm, spitting into the bin one last time and using the edge of his sleeve to wipe against his mouth before deflating into the pillow he’d been resting on previously.

 

“...What do you need?” Iwaizumi asked without prompting.

 

Tooru slanted a spent look in his direction, “A new body?” he forced a grin when he received a frown from the other, “Ice. Some ice would be great.”

 

“Got it.” Once he’d put the trashcan a reachable distance from him, Iwaizumi got to his feet and headed out the door. 

 

Tobio’s eyes followed the retreat, flickering back onto his senpai once only the three of them remained in the room “O...Oikawa-san?” 

 

“Hm?” the elder setter’s focus was on the ceiling overhead, the hum of his voice rough.

 

“Uhm…” his brow creased with the desire to say something, but he fell short of actually doing so.

 

“How about we pause the match for now?” Hinata chimed in instead when he saw his teammate floundering, walking around to the opposite side of the bed to pause the video rather than reaching over Oikawa to do it. The laptop was moved and placed atop a small table resting against the wall nearby. When he went to return to his seat, the crow was stopped by his phone going off, “It’s my mom.” he hesitated to answer at the strained look he received from Tobio, but ended up holding up a finger to signify he’d be quick as he stepped out of the room to answer, “Hi, mom?” his voice trailing into silence once the door swung shut at his back.

 

That silence lasted all of five seconds, “Now then,” Oikawa spoke back up, finally turning a look onto his kouhai, “What were you saying before the shrimp interrupted?”

 

“Oh. Uhm…” he trailed again, sheepishly averting his gaze.

 

“...If you don’t tell me, I’m going to hit you.” his lips thinning into a line as he laid out what was potentially an idle threat.

 

“Iwaizumi-san mentioned surgery.” Tobio shifted, looking at his hands in his lap, fingers threading and squeezing together, “Will you be able to continue playing?”

 

Tooru stared at him like he’d grown a second head and scoffed, “As though it’s even a question.”

 

Oikawa’s optimism quelled any lingering unsureness in Tobio’s gut. Was it strange to be worried over whether or not his  _ rival  _ would make it back out to the court one day? Some people would probably be glad to see their greatest contender cleared from the course. Something like that...for Kageyama, it was difficult to imagine.

 

“...You actually look relieved.” the elder setter barked out a laugh and rocked his head back until his gaze returned to the ceiling, following the lines of a tile with his eyes, “That’s why they’re handling this the way they are. So I can continue playing.”

 

Tobio squinted, canting his head to one side like a confused mutt, “Oh?” 

 

“...’Oh’? That’s all you have to say?” another, softer chuckle and Oikawa nodded, “Mm. Since I’m otherwise an adonis, the doctors are taking every liberty available to them.” 

 

The way the comment was worded only further contorted Kageyama’s face, “Liberty?” his features untwisted and he straightened his back once Oikawa’s eyes snapped back onto him, sealing his lips.

 

“Mhn~. Using aggressive chemo to shrink the tumor, so they only have to cut away a small amount of bone and tissue. With any luck, I won’t need any sort of prosthesis.” he could see the confusion on Tobio’s face over the foreign word, but he ran with his explanation conversationally rather than stopping to explain himself, “Then rehab...and some more chemo to make sure they didn’t miss any cancerous cells.” he sighed as the weight of his own words soaked in, lifting his head a couple inches and shoving it roughly back down into the pillow with an annoyed grunt, “Honestly. It’s a good thing I’ve already been accepted to a university, or I’d be  _ pissed _ .” 

 

Tobio was surprised by his senpai’s honesty. It was one thing for Iwaizumi to decide he could explain a portion of the situation to him, but it was another entirely for Oikawa himself to do so. With interest, no less, “You got accepted to a university?” he took the subject as bait rather than forcing the other to continue talking about the fact that he was unwell.

 

“Naturally~.” a hand lifting with two fingers raised, scissoring them against each other as he flashed a smirk Tobio’s way, “In Tokyo. On a sports scholarship.” he practically reeked of pride over that fact. As it so happened, his current condition didn’t remotely mar his ego.

 

A hint of jealousy blossomed in his gut, but Tobio knew he had plenty of time left before he needed to worry about that. If luck remained on his side, he might even manage to follow in his senpai’s footsteps, “...Good job.” the sentiment fell flat, but he at least managed to get the words out.

 

“T’ch. I wasn’t looking for your validation.” Oikawa muttered, his hand dropping to the bed.

 

Hinata and Iwaizumi returned to the room together, the decoy laughing brightly while the ace smiled down at him, “That’s some story.” the latter shook his head, carrying the cup of ice over.

 

“What’s this?” Oikawa piped up, hardly concealing his puffed out lower lip, “Already trying to replace me, huh, Iwa-chan?” he flinched as an ice cube was flicked his way, visibly pouting once he’d nudged it back off his chest.

 

“The hell’re you on about? I could  _ literally  _ replace you with a garbage can.” Iwaizumi handed the cup over in tandem with his comment.

 

“ _ Rude! _ ” Tooru yanked the ice from him, aggressively pouring a portion of the chipped pieces into his mouth to let them melt against the places that hurt.

 

“What do you say we finish watching the game, and then I’ll walk you two back to the bus stop?” Iwaizumi offered rather than responding to Tooru’s outburst.

 

“I...actually have to leave.” Hinata piped up apologetically, looking across at Kageyama, “My mom was wondering when I’d be heading back...”

 

“Ah--...” he caught Hinata’s gaze, briefly slanting a look towards Oikawa before pressing himself out of his seat, “It’s late.”

 

“Mhm.” the elder setter almost seemed to deflate, his eyelids heavy as he swallowed the mouthful of melted ice, “They’re grown boys. They don’t need anyone to walk them out.” he muttered, looking up towards Iwaizumi from beneath long eyelashes.

 

“...You’ll be asleep before I get back anyway.” Hajime muttered, grabbing the ice cup from Tooru and setting it aside to assure he wouldn’t spill any of it on himself, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” 

 

A dramatic sigh, and the setter rolled partway over onto his side, facing away from the doorway as the other three made their retreat, “Feel better, grand king!” Hinata sent a wave towards the bed.

 

Tobio took one last look back, watching the start of his senpai curling into a ball before the door clicked shut and sealed him away within the sterile room.

 

***

 

“I’ll get the disc back to y...you.” Hajime yawned at the tail of his sentence, belatedly palming a hand over his mouth and leaning his shoulder against the sign that marked the bus stop, “I appreciate you two making your way all the way over here. I’m sure Oikawa does too...in his own way.”

 

Tobio shrugged, “I didn’t expect him to be happy about it.” to be frank, it had gone a lot better than expected, “Just let me know when you’re done with the DVD and I’ll come get it.”

 

“Sure.” he nodded, scrubbing sleep from his eyes.

 

“How long have you been here with him?” Hinata piped up from his seat on the bench.

 

“Hmm...all day, I guess.” Iwaizumi glanced back towards the hospital, “He’s only in for a few days, so…” he trailed and shrugged, features sullen.

 

“...You’re worried.” the small crow’s brows came together when Hajime nodded.

 

“He’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” a deep breath in, a deep breath out, and he pressed off the sign with a rough clearing of his throat, “That looks like your bus.”

 

“Hey. Iwaizumi-san?” Hinata pushed himself off the bench and sent a rough hit to the other’s back in a manner more befitting something he might do to Kageyama on the court. The look he was given made the crow squawk and shrivel up on the spot, taking a long step back before fixing Seijou’s ace with a smile and a thumbs up--which profited him an amused grin in return.

 

Tobio was aware of the others talking and moving around in his periphery, but he wasn’t focused on any of it. He may not have been very good with emotions in general, but he was pretty sure what he was feeling at that moment was empathy. Oikawa could put up a strong front, but that didn’t change the reality he was currently trapped in. Cancer was bad. Even cancer that was labeled as  _ not _ bad still was. His senpai was showing the signs of his treatment. He’d looked tired. Almost frail. Tobio hadn’t known until that day that the sight of his rival falling to pieces before his eyes was something he never wanted to see; but, now he was sure of it. An illness lamed Oikawa Tooru was something he would never wish for.


	5. His Small Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POV shift from Kageyama to Oikawa. The shift will remain for a couple chapters before returning to Kageyama.

***

 

He stared at the heart monitor, the sound of its incessant beeping grating on his nerves. A couple more days, and he’d be free of it. No more wires or tubes. He’d be able to go home, see his parents, get some real rest...because these catnaps at the hospital just weren’t cutting it. Now was no exception. Iwaizumi hadn’t been mistaken about him falling to sleep, though Tooru _had_ soaked himself in minor self deprecation before consciousness left him.

 

Maybe he’d been asleep thirty minutes. Maybe he’d been out for five hours. He was never sure just how long the bouts of exhaustion would take him, “Iwa-chan?” his voice hoarse as he rolled over, eyes scanning the vacant room. Had he left already? Or had he not come back from dropping off the kids? Had his nap really been that short?

 

His stomach tightened, but with a gracious lack of nausea. Maybe his ice was still ice? A groan escaped him as he rolled over from one side to the other, reaching out for the cup that Iwaizumi had left beside the bed, “...Of course.” he muttered, looking down into the puddle in the bottom. At least it was cold. A testing sip, and he took down all that was left in two quick swallows. Fingers squeezed around the paper container to crush and toss it into his puke bin before his cheek returned to the pillow.

 

From that vantage point, he caught sight of Iwaizumi’s computer bag and a calm settled over him. So, he hadn’t left yet. He couldn’t very well just leave his things behind. Tooru wet his lips, steeling himself before he pressed away from the mattress to sit up. Legs slid off the side of the bed, putting pressure on his left one while placing ginger weight on the right. With one hand on his IV stand, and another on the bed, he limped his way around to where the shrimp had put the computer. It took some doing, but he managed to move it from the table to the bed before a voice in the doorway interrupted him.

 

“The hell do you think you’re doing?” Iwaizumi frowned, “Get your ass back in bed.”

Tooru jolted on the spot, slowly turning to face the other with a forced smile on his lips, “I was just about to put my ass back in bed, as it so happens.” of course, he had to walk all the way back around to the other side to position the stand where it’d been previously so he didn’t end up with crossed wires anywhere before he could even _think_ of laying down again.

 

“...Come on.” Iwaizumi muttered upon his approach, curling an arm around the setter’s middle in order to help him limp his way to his destination. With the IV stand in place, he pulled back the bed sheets and waited for Oikawa to lay down before tossing them over him.

 

“Where were you?” he drug the laptop closer to himself, flipping the screen back open.

 

Hajime took the time to go through the wires and tubes to make sure everything remained attached before heading around to his chair to reclaim it, “My parents called, so I stepped out.”

 

“Hmm.” Oikawa hummed out disapprovingly, scrubbing the tip of one aggravatingly dry finger across the mousepad to wake the computer.

 

“...You’re not seriously going to try and make me feel bad for getting a call from my parents, are you?” his tone quickly turning irked.

 

“No. Of course not. Why would I ever get upset about Iwa-chan leaving me all alone without telling me where he was going while I’m practically bedridden?” eyes lit up along with the computer, the video on screen still paused where they’d left it.

 

Hajime crossed his arms over his chest and pressed back into his chair, “You really are a piece of shit.”

 

The sentiment didn’t seem to affect Oikawa in the slightest. He scrolled the video backwards a couple minutes, not entirely sure where they’d left off before his stomach had so rudely interrupted. Another hum, this time of approval, and he set it to play so they could finish watching the game.

 

***

 

“Shit.” he muttered when the recording came to a close.

 

“Hm?” Iwaizumi roused from a short slumber, feigning alertness.

 

“I said _shit_.” Oikawa muttered.

 

“Okay.” he cleared his throat, “Why?”

 

“Because I’m frustrated, and _shit_ seemed like an appropriate response.”

 

Iwaizumi raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, “...Fair enough.” he was on his feet a moment later in order to collect the computer from the other and return it to its bag.

 

“Who said I was done with that?” Oikawa huffed, his eyes following his friend.

 

“Me. You’ve had enough.” the bag’s strap was lifted and placed over his shoulder, “I need to head home to get some sleep before class.”

 

“...Couldn’t you just sleep here?”

 

Iwaizumi hesitantly turned his focus onto the other, one eye corner twitching at the pathetic look he found fixed on him, “No.” he replied pointedly, “You’ll be fine. Just get some more sleep. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

 

His lower lip protruded, brows forwarding, “Stingy.” Oikawa clucked.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” a hand raised, “See you.”

 

“Sure. See you.” Tooru muttered, “Hit the lightswitch on your way out.”

 

The room dimmed when Iwaizumi left, but it was never truly ‘dark’. There were small lights in odd places throughout the space, the wash of streetlamps coming through the window from outside. As soon as he made an attempt at sleeping, per Iwaizumi’s request, a fresh wave of nausea took him over. His body curled up and eyes pinched shut to try and ward it off, but it didn’t work. The bin was still close enough to grab, scooping it up in time to lose...water? Was that seriously all he had to give? If not for the drip in his arm keeping him hydrated, he wasn’t sure how he’d ever survive going through this.

 

“Shit.” the curse bordered on a whine, eyes moist from the effort of heaving, “Shit, shit, _shit._ ” it wasn’t fair. Nothing about this was fair. Sure, he’d agree that he wasn’t the world’s greatest human being sometimes, but had he really done anything worthy of deserving _this_?

 

Oikawa spit into the trash a few times before slowly lowering it into the chair Iwaizumi had been using before. He stared at it, feeling his emotional turmoil reaching a precipice--before he was cut off by the door opening. Tooru pulled himself back together as he spotted the nurse there, fixing her with a smile, “You’ve got good timing.”

 

“Do I?” she chuckled, making her way over to check his vitals, “And why do you say that?”

 

“Knee’s starting to hurt.” he tried to watch her hand as she placed a thermometer to his forehead, “And I could use something for my nausea. Maybe something to help me sleep.”

 

“So, you’d like the whole pharmacy then?” she pulled the thermometer away when it beeped and scribbled some things down on her clipboard.

 

“Basically.” Tooru grinned.

 

“Let me see what I can get for you.” she offered a smile right back before disappearing out the door. There was another request on the setter’s tongue, but he let it go. With any luck, he’d be medicated and sleeping in no time.

 

***

 

He was vaguely aware of a hand on his face when he started to come to, grunting when it began patting him on the cheek, “Hmn?” Tooru slid one eye open in order to squint in the direction of his attacker, belatedly opening the second, “...Takeru?” his voice hoarse with sleep.

 

“You’ve got really bad morning breath.” his nephew pried his hand away, taking a step back.

 

“...Why is everyone in my life this rude?” Oikawa frowned, lifting his gaze to his sister when he realized there was a second body in the room, “You know, you should probably teach him some manners.”

 

“Uh-huh. I’ll keep that in mind.” Mae replied noncommittally, an affectionate smirk winding its way across her lips, “How’re you feeling?”

 

Tooru took a moment to consider the question before shrugging, “Fine, for the moment.” he’d just woken up. Nothing hurt yet, and he didn’t feel sick, so that was a step in the right direction. At least until his next course of treatment came through.

 

“Takeru? Why don’t you give your uncle what you brought him?”

 

“Ooh? What’s this? Did Takeru actually bring me a get well soon present?” Tooru grinned, pressing himself up to sit. Mae situated his pillows for him so he could rest against them, watching his nephew shuffle through his backpack.

 

“Here!” he pulled out a paper gift bag, handing it off.

 

“He picked everything out himself.” Mae smiled proudly before leaning in to speak quieter in her brother’s ear, “If there’s anything you don’t want, wait until we leave to toss it.” her smile brightened as she straightened, scooping an arm around Takeru’s shoulders.

 

Tooru lifted a brow before peering down into the bag, “Oooh.” he began picking out the odds and ends - candy, a small figurine from an anime he didn’t recognize, one small volleyball mascot plush on a cellphone strap, and a drawing to top it all off, “Oh wow! Is this me?” pointing to the teal glob in somewhat humanoid shape on the page and continuing on when Takeru nodded, “This is great. Thank you, Take-chan.”

 

Takeru pulled a face at the nickname, but he let it slide, “I would’ve brought you a toothbrush too, if I knew you needed one.”

 

“...I have a toothbrush!” Oikawa clicked his tongue, slipping everything back into the bag, “You just woke me up. Everyone has morning breath after they wake up. Even you.”

 

“Yeah, but yours is _really_ bad.”

 

Mae did her best not to laugh, covering her mouth just long enough to pull herself back together before speaking up, “Maybe we should get Tooru-oji to eat one of the candies you brought, hm? That might help.”

 

“Yeah! The blue one! Try the blue one!” Takeru tapped the bag, “It tastes like blueberries.”

 

Tooru’s stomach curdled at the very idea of putting something as loud as candy in it, but he forced a smile all the same, “Sure.” he knew he was going to regret it, but he still pulled the small wrapped sphere back out and popped it into his mouth after peeling the plastic off, “Mmm.” he hummed out, handing the trash off to Takeru, “Will you toss that for me? Thank you.” the taste itself was surprisingly welcome on his tongue, but he wasn’t sure how well it was going to settle when all was said and done, “So, how’ve you been? Tell me about school.”

 

Mae pulled up a chair for Takeru and herself so the little one could begin telling his tale.

 

***

 

“Why the hell is it blue?!” Iwaizumi spat out when he pulled the bin away from Oikawa, looking down into the near turquoise colored puddle settled at the bottom of the white bag inside.

 

“Takeru.” Oikawa groaned, rolling over onto his back, “My sister brought Takeru over earlier, and he had me eat a piece of candy.” what was supposed to only be one piece ended up turning into multiple. They’d tasted remarkably good, given that most of the hospital food he’d been fed during the course of his treatment made it feel like he was eating dirt, “It was blue. Really blue.” he muttered, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead.

 

“Dumbass.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Oh, look. The married couple is quarreling.” Makki grinned from the doorway before stepping inside, Mattsun following close on his heels, “Hope we’re not interrupting.”

 

Iwaizumi and Oikawa sent them both a dirty look in unison, the other two third years showing visible amusement, “Well, you guys just missed out on watching me puke, so…” Tooru muttered, using the edge of the bedsheets to clean the corners of his mouth.

 

“Gross.” Hanamaki said as he approached the bed.

 

“Iwa-chan. You should throw it at them.”

 

Matsukawa took a decisive step around to the opposite side of the setter’s bed to make sure nothing of the sort happened, “I’d rather not have radioactive vomit on me.”

 

“...It’s not radioactive!” Oikawa clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes.

 

“Did you guys bring the drinks or not?” Iwaizumi interrupted, frowning at the other two.

 

“Of course we brought them.” Hanamaki lifted the plastic bags he had in hand, holding one of the two towards the ace, “Got a few flavored ones, but mostly plain.”

 

“Hm?” Tooru frowned, curiosity tracing his features.

 

Hajime took the bag and began pulling out the contents, “Plain’s probably best.” once he found an original flavor ramune, he set the rest aside so he could open it up and hand it off to the ill one in the room, “Drink.”

 

Oikawa eyed the bottle unsurely for a moment before taking it from him. Given the fact that he’d _just_ emptied his stomach, he wasn’t looking forward to putting anything else on it, but...at least that’d probably go easy on him, “...Thanks.” he muttered, drawing down a hesitant swallow. The sip to follow had him sloshing it around his mouth first to wash away the taste of bile before repeating the process.

 

When he was done, Iwaizumi took the bottle from him to set it aside. He grabbed one for himself after, melon flavor, and reclaimed his seat to have at it. Makki grabbed two grapes, tossing one across at Mattsun before both of them took up chairs as well.

 

Tooru had half a bag of chemo still making its way into his bloodstream, the first half already doing its job of poisoning him, “I was sort of hoping you’d be bald already.” Makki grinned.

 

“T’ch.” Oikawa shot him a look, “Give it a couple weeks. You’ll get your wish.” no humor clung to his voice as he stated as much, lips pressing into a frown.

 

Hanamaki’s grin softened, hazarding a look that bordered on apologetic, “Hey. If anyone other than Watari can pull it off, you definitely can. Right?” he looked to Mattsun for his assent, which was received in the form of a nod, “It’ll be weird if you lose your eyelashes, though.” he continued, not helping the situation.

 

“It’s just hair.” Iwaizumi interrupted, rather than give Tooru the chance to show actual anger, “It’ll grow back.”

 

“Right!” Oikawa said, “I heard that hair after chemo sometimes comes back curlier.” he fluffed a hand through his mane, “So, chances are good, my hair will come in even nicer than it was originally.” or, potentially less manageable...but, that was neither here nor there.

 

“That’s just what you need. A reason for girls to pity you, _and_ a better head of hair.” Iwaizumi muttered.

 

“Just wait. I’ll have another girlfriend before I’m even done with my treatments~.” he reached expectantly for his drink, bringing it to his lips once Hajime pressed it roughly into his palm.

 

“There really is no limit to your ego, is there?” Matsukawa asked, amusement evident in his tone.

 

“You act like that’s a bad thing.” Tooru clucked.

 

“It is.” the other three spoke together in unison, looking at one another in surprise before the lot chuckled. Oikawa ended up belatedly laughing along with them, more than happy to hide behind his false bravado for as long as he could handle it.


	6. Loneliness and Pain

He hadn’t eaten anything since his sister and Takeru stopped by. Vomiting was becoming monotonous. His throat was sore, his mouth was sore, and every time his stomach revolted that pain only grew worse. Tooru’s parents had dropped by earlier, and they’d taken Iwaizumi out to eat with them as gratitude for him sticking around in their stead. It was lonely when no one was in the room with him, but he knew he couldn’t expect someone to stay in the hospital with him all the time. 

 

His phone buzzed beneath his pillow where he’d left it for easy access, shucking a hand under to drag it out and check the screen.

 

_ You awake? _ It was a text from Iwaizumi.

 

_ Eternally. _ He sent the message through, following it up with a second.  _ Enjoying eating without me? _ Because he was petty.

 

_ Shut up, Shittykawa _ . Tooru frowned as he read.  _ I left my bag in your room.  _ His eyes tracked to said bag still settled beside Iwaizumi’s chair before returning to the phone as it chimed again.  _ Kageyama-kun is headed over to get the DVD. Be nice. _

 

His stomach tightened and a deeper frown creased his brow.  _ Why would you let him come over without telling me first?!  _ Sent.  _ Mean Iwa-chan.  _ Sent.  _ Selfish.  _ Sent.  _ Ass.  _ Aggressively sent.

 

_ Don’t be a jerk. Just pretend like you’re asleep again. _ Along with that sentiment, he forwarded a photo of what they were eating because he, too, was petty when it came to dealing with Oikawa.

 

“Ugh. Seriously?” Oikawa groaned, tucking his phone away as he rolled over onto his side. With any luck, he might even fall asleep for real. His eyes pressed shut as he snuggled down into the far too thin sheets and tried his best to do precisely that.

 

***

 

Regrettably, Tooru’s nurse came in little more than a minute before Tobio showed up. She was taking his vitals when the younger setter walked through the door. Both sets of eyes turned onto the boy, but only Oikawa’s remained as visible distaste painted his face, “It’s there.” he gestured to the bag on the floor, “In the side pocket.” his focus returned to the nurse with an apologetic smile once he’d said what he needed to say.

 

Rather than take the disc and leave, Tobio grabbed it out of the bag and waited until the nurse had gone before approaching the bed, “...Oikawa-san?”

 

“Nope. Going to sleep now.” Tooru muttered, rolling on his side to face away from his kouhai, “See you around, Tobio-chan.”

 

Annoyance creased Kageyama’s features, persistently making his way around to the side of the bed that Oikawa was facing, “...I got invited to the Japan Youth training camp.”

 

A brow twitched, eyes slowly opening to settle on the crow’s face, “Are you trying to make me  _ more _ sick?” he scoffed, rolling over to face the opposite direction instead, “Good for you.” irritation evident in his voice.

 

“...It  _ is _ good for me.” Tobio replied, once again stubbornly making his way around to the other side of the bed.

 

Tooru slowly turned another look up onto him, blinking flatly, “That’s what I said.” he clucked.

 

“But it’s…” Kageyama trailed. 

 

The lost look on his face made amusement spring over Oikawa’s own, “Not what I meant~?” he interjected helpfully.

 

“Mm.” the crow nodded.

 

“Of course it’s not. Why the hell would I be happy about that?” Tooru muttered.

 

Tobio looked to be searching for a good response, but came up empty. His gaze turned down onto his feet rather than stating anything aloud.

 

A long sigh, and Oikawa rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling overhead. He didn’t like Tobio. There’d probably never been a point in his time knowing the boy that he’d had any ‘good’ feelings about him. Despite that fact, he was stuck between wanting to kick the other out, and wanting another warm body in the room with him, “If you’re not going to leave, the least you can do is sit down so you’re not hovering over me. It feels like there’s a spectre in the room.” he eventually muttered, listening to the squeak of a chair as Kageyama heeded his advice.

 

“Sorry.” Tobio muttered.

 

“You should be.” Tooru huffed, lifting his IV clad hand to gently scratch around the tape holding the catheter in place, “Always going to Iwa-chan when you want to show up, instead of making sure it’s fine with me first.”

 

“...How can I make sure it’s fine with you if I can’t contact you?” 

 

Oikawa rolled his head to the side to pin Kageyama down with a glare, “I wonder why that is.” he muttered, watching the boy straighten his back.

 

“Y...you could give me your contact information?” Tobio offered, visibly flinching when Tooru started laughing.

 

“You can’t be serious.” he breathed out at the tail end of the dry chuckle, wiping away invisible tears, “But, of  _ course _ you’re serious. I doubt you even know how to joke.” Oikawa sighed, reaching a hand out towards the other, wiggling his fingers expectantly, “...Well, don’t just  _ stare  _ at me. I might change my mind.” a second later, and the other boy’s phone was in his hand.

 

Tooru hummed to himself as he scrolled through the very short list of contacts therein. He created a contact under the name ‘Don’t Contact Me’ and typed his number in. Precisely one text was sent from Tobio’s phone to his own so he’d be able to have (and potentially block) the number before handing the cell back.

 

Kageyama took it tentatively between his hands and pocketed it, “Thank you.”

 

“Sure.” his tone begrudging at best. Tooru realized, belatedly, that he should have asked the nurse for medicine while she was there. He’d been too caught up with the idea of having to deal with his kouhai that it’d slipped his mind. His knee was starting to hurt, and the ache in his mouth and throat had become more distinct. The latter he could deal with, but his knee...well, there’d been a  _ reason _ he’d shown up at the doctor’s office to begin with. There was a bone deep ache that wouldn’t let go.

 

His teeth grit, crown pressing into his pillow as one arm lifted to lay the back of it across his eyes. He could deal with it. He’d already been forced to puke in front of Tobio, he didn’t want to let himself be seen in an even more pathetic light than he likely already was.

 

“Oikawa-san?” 

 

Tooru’s fingers curled into a fist as he did his best not to react to Tobio’s voice, “What?” 

 

“...Are you alright?”

 

The question was so absolutely ludicrous, given the situation, that he couldn’t help but spout back sarcasm, “Oh.  _ Yes _ . Of  _ course _ . I’m alright. I’m only in the hospital. But, you know. Perfectly fine.”

 

“I didn’t mean…” Tobio trailed, “You just look uncomfortable.”

 

“Maybe because  _ you’re _ still here!” Oikawa bit back, all but flinging his arm from his face and forcing himself up onto his elbow so he could more poignantly stare the other setter down.  _ It hurts _ . He bit the inside of his cheek, brows creasing as pain shot through his leg.  _ It really fucking hurts _ . The fact that his arm was trembling beneath his weight did little to make him look any more powerful than he felt. He could feel an inconvenient burn beginning to rise in the bottoms of his eyes and he quickly dropped himself back down and rolled over, “Just be quiet,” his fingers tangled in the sheets, “I’m tired.” 

 

To his surprise, Tobio did as asked. His lips sealed and the room filled with the steady beep of medical equipment instead. It’d become little more than white noise to Tooru by that point, so he hardly even noticed it. One discreet sniffle, and he pinched his eyes shut to wade through the shock of emotions that’d decided to hit him all at once. Pain had definitely been the stimuli that set him off, but he could usually handle himself better than that. 

 

He kept expecting his kouhai to get up and leave, but he remained. Tooru graciously fell out of consciousness some minutes thereafter. He wasn’t under for very long, twenty minutes at most, and then some noise in the room brought him back again, “Tooru?” the nurse was by his bedside again, a gentle smile on her lips, “A little birdy told me you might need some help.”

 

Though he was irked to imagine who that ‘little birdy’ may have been, Oikawa still ended up nodding his assent in an act of desperation, “Painkillers.” he murmured groggily, unconsciously reaching a hand towards his knee.

 

“Having any nausea?” she was already working on filling up a syringe for him.

 

“Not right now,” he replied.

 

“Good.” a steady hand depressed the needle into the injection port on his IV and gave his arm a gentle pat once she’d finished, “Let me know if you need anything else,” she smiled, “Get some rest.” and, with her retreat, only two remained in the room.

 

Tooru gave a slow glance over his shoulder to spot Tobio still sitting there, his browline twitching forward. There was a part of him that considered thanking the brat for helping him out; but, there was a far greater, considerably shittier part of him that kept him from doing so, “Why’re you still here?” was what ended up coming out instead.

 

“...You didn’t tell me to leave.” the crow pointed out.

 

A vaguely annoyed look passed over Oikawa’s face before he shrugged, “Fair enough.” it was when he rolled over from his side to his back that he realized just how sweaty he was. He pulled a face when he felt the moisture soaked hospital gown sticking to his skin, lifting a hand to wipe across his forehead and smooth back into his hair - the curls of his bangs sticking up at odd angles as a result, “Feels like hay…” he muttered as he peeled his palm away. 

 

Another hand replaced his own a moment later. Tooru laid stark still for a couple seconds following, slowly turning his eyes to follow along the length of Tobio’s arm to his face, blinking blankly once he reached his destination, “...What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

 

That foreign limb lifted away from his face, the younger setter squinting into his own palm, “I’m not sure what hay feels like.”

 

Oikawa’s brows came together, a burn of amusement reaching his eyes as he tried to hold himself back for an entirely different reason than before, but it was no use. Surprisingly  _ honest _ laughter bubbled up, “What??” his delight doubled when the idiot  _ repeated _ himself, watching the confusion grow on Tobio’s face, “You…” he breathed, “There’s something so wrong with you.” Tooru took in one long inhale, holding it for a few seconds to calm himself down and exhaling nice and slow, “Seriously.”

 

Kageyama looked more confused than embarrassed, but the latter emotion was certainly there as well, if the warmth on his cheeks had anything to say about it. His fingers balled into a fist before shoving into the front pocket of his trainers.

 

“Anyway,” Tooru shook his head, still looking vaguely amused, “You  _ can _ go home, you know. I don’t know why you’re still sticking aro--.”

 

“--I was asked to.” Tobio cut him off, “Iwaizumi-san asked me to.”

 

He was really going to have to pay Hajime back. And not in a good way. The very  _ last _ person he’d wanted to see while he was bedridden and pathetic was Tobio. Well...maybe he’d want to see Ushiwaka-chan even less. It was sort of a toss up on which of those two he disliked more, “...You realize he only asked you to stick around in order to mess with me.”

 

“...So?” Tobio locked eyes with him, and he could have  _ sworn _ he saw a smirk briefly flit across his kouhai’s lips.

 

Tooru stared for several seconds and sighed, slowly pressing him up from his lounging position. One pillow was drug out from beneath his head, testing the fluffiness before chucking it at the other boy’s head, “Go  _ home _ , Tobio-chan.”

 

It wasn’t surprising when the crow’s innate abilities had him easily plucking the pillow out of thin air before it reached its destination, but it  _ was _ irksome, “I will. When Iwaizumi-san returns.” Tobio replied, returning the pillow to its roost behind Oikawa.

 

“...Fine.” Tooru seceded, dropping back into the pillows and grabbing the television remote from his bed to turn it on. Some channel surfing later, and he stopped on a B-rate SciFi movie. It was already a good twenty minutes into the plot, but it’d do in a pinch. With the remote returned to the bed, and Tobio sitting back in his chair, Tooru settled in to watch. Thanks to the drugs now pumping through his veins, it took him no time at all to start drifting. Soon enough, he was dead weight and snoozing quietly as dreamscapes opened up to him.


	7. Final Day

Tobio was acutely aware of the fact that Oikawa was falling to sleep. He flitted his gaze from the television to his senpai and back again as the other setter started to nod off. When the taut lines of Tooru’s body softened, and his breathing evened out, Tobio’s focus completely fled from the television. He hadn’t been that interested in the movie to begin with. But then...he didn’t often watch anything that wasn’t volleyball-centric. 

 

He moved his chair closer to the bed as discreetly as he could manage before settling back into it. A hand lifted to wave above Oikawa’s face to assure he really was out cold, “...Oikawa-san?” his voice was little more than a whisper, his hand retreating to his person when he garnered no reaction.

 

It was strange seeing him the way he was. Sure, Oikawa  _ scared _ him more often than not, and irritated him the rest of the time, but his senpai had always held himself tall and proud. Even when he was brought to tears for whatever reason, he still had an air of pride about him. And, to some extent, that pride remained even now, but...it wasn’t as ‘loud’ as it usually was. It almost felt forced.

 

His gaze lifted from the other boy’s face to the heart monitor, watching the up and down spikes on screen that moved along in time with the steady beeping that filled the room with white noise. A long inhale, an even longer exhale, and Tobio slowly turned his focus back down onto his senpai. It hadn’t been  _ bad _ being there with him. Not that he’d been there for a terribly long time, but it was certainly longer than average when the two of them weren’t facing each other on the court. In general, when they saw one another outside of matches, their interludes were short and to the point...with a lot of snark coming his way from Oikawa; but, that was to be expected. 

 

A hand slowly reached out again, initially placing one finger to his senpai’s forehead. Tooru’s brows scrunched, but he was otherwise non-reactive to the stimuli. Tobio waited several seconds before lifting the digit away in order to replace it with his palm to pet the elder setter’s bangs back against his head. He still wasn’t sure what hay was supposed to feel like, but he sort of got the jist of what Oikawa had meant. His hair felt...dry? Certainly dryer than he would have expected, considering how much the other prided himself on his appearance.

 

Tobio stiffened when Oikawa moved, expecting him to wake up right then and there; but, remarkably, that wasn’t what happened. Even more remarkably, the elder setter pressed his head into his palm like a friendly cat. He was peripherally aware of the fact that his face felt warmer than usual, focusing on his senpai’s closed eyelids, expecting them to open at any given second. When nothing of the sort happened, he gently smoothed his hand over the brunette curls a second time--only to all but shoot away from the bed when he heard the door shut behind him.

 

He slowly swiveled his focus around to spy three bodies there, only one of which he recognized, “Iwaizumi-san.” he managed out in greeting, awkwardly lowering his hand into his lap as he turned his focus onto the other two.

 

“Lucky for you that he fell to sleep, huh?” Hajime grinned, something telling in the way he looked at his former kouhai.

 

“Oh. He...hasn’t been asleep long.” Tobio managed to get out, flitting his gaze between the three of them.

 

All the ace could do was shrug by way of apology before making introductions, “This is Kageyama Tobio,” Iwaizumi gestured to the boy, “He went to school with us when we were at Kitagawa Daiichi. Kageyama-kun, these are Oikawa’s parents.” he gestured to the strangers in the room.

 

Oh! Now that he looked at them, he could see the resemblance. Especially in the mother. Tobio pressed up to his feet and bowed low in greeting, straightening up after holding the pose for a couple seconds. He wasn’t the most polite kid in existence, but he could manage it once in a great while.

 

“Thank you for keeping our boy company.” Oikawa’s mother spoke up, approaching Tobio when he straightened and gathering one of his hands into her own, “I know he can be a handful.”

 

“Yes. No.” was Kageyama’s awkward reply.

 

“Which is it?” Iwaizumi piped up nearby, though no one actually expected an answer to follow the question.

 

“So noisy.” Tooru mumbled from the bed, dragging his sheets overhead.

 

All eyes turned towards the bed before Tobio grabbed his bag to leave. He hesitated briefly after turning away, gripping the strap of his satchel on his shoulder, “...Recover quickly, Oikawa-san.” though the act was out of sight while the younger setter’s back was to the elder, Tooru did peek out from beneath the covers following his kouhai’s well wishes until he’d vacated the room. 

 

***

 

“Did he still have his hair? Chemo makes people bald, right?” Hinata asked as he tossed the ball back to Tobio. The two of them had decided to see just how long they could keep the volley from touching the ground with their back and forth. Miraculously, it’d been in the air for a solid twenty minutes and some seconds by that point, and neither of them were showing any sign of fatigue.

 

“Mm.” Kageyama nodded as he overhanded the ball right back, “He still has it, but it’s dry.”

 

“His hair?” the decoy questioned, hitting the ball underhand.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Huh.”

 

A gap of silence fell between them as they tested spikes back and forth at one another before Hinata finally failed to receive and the ball went rolling off to the other end of the gym. Yachi grabbed it up and tossed it back their way, allowing Kageyama to catch it out of the air, “He said it felt like hay, so I touched it.” going into more detail so that things made more sense for the shrimp.

 

“Oh yeah??” Hinata patted his knees expectantly, like someone trying to call a dog over.

 

A nod, and Tobio underhanded a serve to his teammate to begin the process all over again, “He wasn’t happy about it.”

 

“That’s not surprising.” The decoy scoffed, over-handing the ball back, “You don’t just go around touching other people's hair without their permission.” not that Hinata was one to mind those things. His teammates ruffled his orange mop up all the time, though it was usually only done when he was being congratulated, “Especially not the grand king’s. And especially not if that person is  _ you _ .”

 

Kageyama pegged the ball back at him in retaliation for the comment, watching it ricochet off the smaller crow’s forearms and into his face, lips thinning into a frown, “I already know that!” of course Oikawa wouldn’t want him that close. It was still a wonder to him that Iwaizumi had even asked him to ‘babysit’ his senpai in his stead. Tobio had been certain that things were going to turn out terrible. And...really, they hadn’t. If anything, Oikawa’s emotional track had been all over the place. He wasn’t friendly. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even so, he wasn’t really as ‘awful’ as he usually was either; but, maybe that was Tobio taking pity on him. Maybe he really  _ had _ been as terrible as usual, and he just hadn’t seen it that way because of the state he’d been in. 

 

Either way, he felt exceptionally annoyed.

 

“What the hell was that?” Hinata bit out as he rubbed the fresh red welt on his cheek.

 

“Focus on the ball, not on the conversation, dumbass.” Kageyama grabbed the ball as it rolled back towards him before going to put it away. They were already an hour past the time practice was supposed to end, so it was a good a time as any to call it a night, “Let’s clean up.”

 

“What? Why?” the decoy pouted, but that didn’t stop him from commencing the cleanup process.

 

Yachi was there to help them as soon as she noticed what was going on, the three of them making quick work of putting the gym back together. Though he was accustomed to walking part of the way home with Hinata, Kageyama hardly minded when his teammate decided to walk Yachi to the bus stop instead. Without Kiyoko there to go with her, it didn’t seem right to let her go on her own. Or, that was what Hinata had said, even though Yachi declined that it was necessary.

 

A shrug, a yawn, and Tobio started off in the opposite direction of the other two. He was halfway home when he decided to pluck his phone from his pocket, flipping through the contacts. It wasn’t a long list, but it still took him a couple glances to realize which one must have been Oikawa’s number. After changing the name in his phone to something more recognizable, Tobio started to type out a text.

 

_ How-- _ he began and stopped, forwarding his brow as he deleted the start of his sentiment to try again -- _ Are you out-- _ starting and stopping again, only to delete the characters a second time.

 

Oikawa would probably do better  _ not _ hearing from him. It would be a waste of his time and effort to try to make contact, especially when there was a strong possibility that his number had already been blocked. In the end, he pulled up Iwaizumi’s name instead, putting a message through.  _ Is Oikawa-san out of the hospital? _

 

It wasn’t until he’d been home for a couple hours following that he finally received a text back.  _ He is. _ Short and to the point.

 

_ When does he go for surgery? _ Tobio asked.

 

The next response was more immediate.  _ 4-6 weeks from now. _

 

_ Thanks. _ Was the last thing he decided to say, rather than digging any deeper. That was enough. There was no reason for him to pull for more information, despite wanting to.

 

_ Thank you for worrying. _ One more reply from the other side, and he felt his stomach tighten. Even if the gratitude wasn’t coming from Oikawa himself, he was still pleased to see it from Iwaizumi. Those two were practically joined at the hip, even if they didn’t seem to get along most of the time, so it was  _ almost _ as good.


	8. Camp

Despite getting lost trying to find his way around the stations between Torono and Tokyo, the trip to Japan Youth went as well as could be hoped. Tobio wasn’t a terribly personable guy, not even with his own teammates, but he had grown up considerably since becoming Karasuno’s setter. The fact that he’d been invited to the training camp was exciting enough.

 

The fact that the gym itself looked  _ professional _ made him that much more earnest to play on the court. He ended up using his phone to take a picture and send it along. It turned out a bit on the blurry side because photography definitely wasn’t his niche, but everything was plenty visible regardless. After forwarding it along to Hinata, simply to piss his teammate off, Kageyama hesitated on another name before following through with a second message as well - sending it off to Oikawa. There was no text to go along with it, just the picture. That would be enough. In retrospect, it may have been considered cruel, but that wasn’t his intention.

 

Neither of them replied immediately, but Hinata was the first of the two to send him back a message.  _ No way! It’s huge! What’s up with the floor? It’s like the olympics. _

 

There was a small amount of back and forth between them during Tobio’s break, but Hinata’s messages ended up cutting off first. Was he busy? Probably. Knowing the little idiot, he was trying to find a way to catch up with him. It wasn’t until the end of the first day that Oikawa finally sent something back in the form of a clapping emoji. That was it. No text. Tobio considered the screen for a moment before essentially doing the same thing back, in the form of a thumbs up emoji.

 

Which was followed by a middle finger, courtesy of Oikawa. After that, Kageyama decided to let things lie. He helped clean the gym up before heading off to bed. It was fairly easy for him to fall to sleep almost anywhere, so he had no trouble doing just that. His dreams crept in uncomfortably around him, thanks to a certain older setter who was at the camp with him. In a way, Miya reminded him of Tooru. There was that same air of superiority surrounding both of them. 

 

And...maybe they  _ were _ superior to him currently, but that wasn’t to say that Tobio wouldn’t reach their level as he progressed. They had more experience. It just made sense that they would stand above him. For now.

 

***

 

One phrase kept going through his head the following day. ‘Goody two shoes’. Miya had called him that, and he wasn’t sure if it quite fit. Or, if it did, was that even a bad thing? Was it a good thing? Did it matter either way? He was giving his spikers the best tosses for them for the most part, and wasn’t that what he was supposed to be doing as a setter?

 

That thought stayed with him throughout practice. To some extent, it interfered with his level of play, but Kageyama did his level best to keep himself in check. There was no reason for him to be panicking over the comment of another play whom he barely knew on  _ or _ off court. Only Oikawa was allowed to get beneath his skin like that.

 

Following his shower that evening, Tobio dropped down into his futon and stared at the ceiling overhead. His mind was reeling as he went through the happenings of the past couple days - not to mention what all went on before he headed to Tokyo. On the one hand, he was happy to be at the Japan Youth camp. On the other...everything felt a little surreal. Wrong, almost. Like his small world had been knocked over onto its side and it couldn’t quite roll itself upright.

 

Tobio allowed his mind to wander for some time before taking up his phone. He hadn’t had it on his person that day, deciding against keeping the distraction with him in order to focus more acutely on practice. It wasn’t terribly surprising to find that Hinata had left him a message that was largely jibberish. He  _ was _ surprised, however, to find he’d received a text from Oikawa without his prompting.

 

_ What? No gloating photos today? _ According to the time stamp, it’d been sent early that afternoon.

 

“Gloating photos?” Tobio muttered aloud to himself, thumbs clacking across the keys.  _ I wasn’t gloating. _ He mouthed the words as he typed them, frowning at the screen as the message went through.

 

_ That’s a lie. _ Oikawa came back within a matter of minutes.

 

Kageyama rolled his eyes.  _ I thought you’d be interested. I won’t send anymore. _ When ten minutes had passed, and he received no further responses, Tobio decided to send along another.  _ Would you consider me a goody two shoes? _

 

First came a laughing emoji, then a poop emoji, followed closely by an actual message.  _ Absolutely not. You’re a massive brat. _ And finally:  _ Why would you even ask that? _

 

He wasn’t sure if Oikawa’s response made him feel better or worse.  _ Another setter at camp called me that. _

 

Again with the emojis.  _ I guess they don’t know you very well. _

 

_ And you do? _ Was Tobio’s response. It was an honest question, though it may not have translated as such via text.

 

_ Of course I do! _ He couldn’t quite place why, but Oikawa’s adamant reply made something in his gut clench.  _ Don’t listen to some hack. I don’t care how talented he might be. _

 

That almost felt like the other setter was trying to stick up for him. If he didn’t know any better, he might have believed that to be the case.  _ Okay. _ He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t listen to Miya at all because his statement remained right there at the back of his brain, but he felt marginally more centered now. Tobio considered the screen for several seconds before deigning to send another message through.  _ May I call you? _

 

There was a considerably longer pause between texts. Just shy of ten minutes had passed when Oikawa finally messaged back with a simple:  _ No _ . It wasn’t as though it were surprising, but Tobio felt disappointed all the same.  _ Go to bed, Tobio-chan.  _

 

_ Good night, Oikawa-san. _ A part of him wanted to attempt to continue the conversation, despite his senpai not wanting to talk to him outside of text, but he decided against it. There was no doubt in his mind that the elder setter was still on the mend. He probably would be for some time, so it was for the best that he allow him to rest.

 

After a surprising ‘ _ Good night’ _ returned from Oikawa, Kageyama put his phone on the charger and rolled out of bed to turn off the light. His mind was still churning, but his thoughts weren’t nearly as muddled as they had been before he decided to talk with his senpai

 

***

 

By the time Sunday rolled around, Tobio felt he was playing better. His mind was clearer to some extent, and he’d had a brief conversation with Miya to help get things off his chest. Once he reached the train that would take him back to Torono, Kageyama was back on his phone. A message to Hinata, a message to his parents, and - after some internal deliberation - a message to Iwaizumi. He briefly considered sending something along to Oikawa, but he’d bothered him enough that weekend as it was. All he wanted to know was how the elder setter was doing. It was...important. 

 

His parents ended up getting back to him first. Unsurprisingly, they weren’t going to be home that evening; but, there would be food waiting for him in the fridge. He didn’t hear from Hinata, which was a little annoying, but he could only imagine what that idiot had gotten up to while they were separated. Iwaizumi responded a good half hour into his trip to let him know that Oikawa was doing well enough. 

 

Given the fact that he needed something to bide his time with until he reached his final destination, he decided to hazard an attempt at having an actual conversation with the ace. His fingers started over the keys, but he’d barely typed the first word before Iwaizumi got another message out first.

 

_ His parents are putting together a welcome home party for him, for whenever he’s feeling up to having company. They mentioned inviting you since you were there through part of the chemo. _ Tobio felt an increasingly familiar clench in his gut as he read the message.

 

_ I don’t think Oikawa-san would like me being there _ . Which he felt was true enough. They barely tolerated each other on the court, much less in a social setting. The fact that he’d spent time with his senpai at the hospital didn’t exactly negate the fact that they’d been rivals up until that moment. Extenuating circumstances and all that.

 

_ You might be right about that. _ Iwaizumi’s response came shortly after his sentiment, another message following right after it.  _ But, he’s a selfish brat, and he needs to be put in his place sometimes. _

 

Tobio frowned at the screen. He couldn’t deny that Oikawa had a ‘bratty’ disposition, but that was probably a bit much considering what he was going through.  _ Don’t get me wrong _ , Hajime continued in another text as though he’d been reading Kageyama’s mind,  _ He’s going through some shit right now, but that’s even more reason for him to be grateful for the good things he has. _

 

He wasn’t sure how much he agreed with that sentiment, but Iwaizumi certainly knew Oikawa far better than he did.  _ If you think I should go, I’ll go. _ Tobio replied,  _ Let me know when _ .

 

_ Will do. _ His phone buzzed in his hand with the new message.  _ His parents will appreciate it a lot. Thank you. _ Everything uncomfortable about the conversation aside, he was surprised to find that he even felt a little  _ eager _ to see Tooru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend for there to be such a delay between chapters! Life has been hectic. 
> 
> I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. It's a bit short, but it's fine. It's fiiiine. Hopefully someone out there will still find it enjoyable!


	9. Cause and Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning to Oikawa's POV for a few chapters.

***

 

He stared down at the brown clump in his hand, remarkably unaffected by it. In a way, it sort of looked like the carcass of a tribble. Tooru briefly considered inviting Iwaizumi over for a Star Trek marathon, and maybe using the segue to make mention of his tribble trouble, but ended up deciding against it - tipping his hand to watch as the spray from the showerhead washed the hairball into the basin and down the drain near his feet.

 

It wasn’t like he didn’t know it was going to happen. He’d been told it’d be two to four weeks after his first course of chemo that his hair would start falling out, and today marked the end of the second week almost to the minute. At the very least, Tooru had been hoping his hay-hair would last until the four week point. Not that it much mattered. Bald might even be a good look on him! If only he didn’t look so damn _tired_ to go along with it.

 

He returned his hands to his hair with a sigh, further lathering the shampoo that remained to see if anymore would come loose at the root. It was the next, albeit smaller, hair tribble that made him second guess his resolve. His stomach tightened uncomfortably and his eyes squeezed shut as he pressed his feelings back down. He hadn’t cried yet, and he didn’t intend on starting to now. Though...in retrospect, it was an opportune time to do so. He was by himself, and no one was going to walk in on him. He could get it all out and his family and friends would never be the wiser--

 

Tooru cut off his train of thought and shucked his head beneath the water to rinse himself. When he went to reach for the conditioner, he stopped himself shy. What was the point? His head remained beneath the falling water, staring at the porcelain between his feet as tendrils continued to rinse from him. Only when they slowed did he finally turn the shower off and grab for his towel. He scrubbed his head first, almost certain he was aiding the chemo in ridding him of his mane, before drying off the rest of his body.

 

He remained in naught but his own skin as he came to stand before the mirror, using his towel to wipe away the fog that obscured his reflection. When he could see himself reasonably clearly, Tooru leant in close to get a better look at what he was dealing with. With as much as he’d been expecting to uncover a bald spot, he was surprised to find he could hardly see the difference yet. Maybe it was thinner on the left? Yeah, it was definitely thinner. But, he only knew that because he saw himself on a daily basis.

 

“Maybe I should just shave it…” Oikawa muttered to himself, frowning at his reflection. That was what people did, wasn’t it? It was better than ending up with a patchwork of hair on his head. His gaze turned from the mirror to the drawer that held his razor, tapping a finger against the handle thoughtfully--and shaking his head at himself the moment he changed his mind, “No reason to go that far yet.” maybe he’d do it when it became more obvious; but, as it stood, he still looked fine.

 

His towel was wrapped around his waist when he finally deigned to leave the bathroom. The scent of food was in the air, but he wasn’t sure he had the appetite to stomach it. At least that meant that someone was home with him.

 

It was a short trip to his bedroom, once again dropping his towel when he was behind closed doors. With nowhere to go, Tooru adorned himself with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to head downstairs, “Smells good.” there was a faux smile on his face when he stepped into the kitchen to find his mother putting a kettle on the stove, deciding against letting her in on the turmoil that was going on inside him.

 

“It’s nothing special.” the woman waved a hand idly in the air, “Tamago gohan. I figured it might be easy on your stomach.”

 

“Mm. Might be.” he agreed. Even if he was doing his level best to ignore what was going on with his hair, Tooru had been fairly open about his appetite - or lack thereof - since he’d returned from the hospital. He was sure it made things difficult for his mother, trying to figure out what she could feed him...if anything, “Is dad home?”

 

“No. He went into work this morning.” she cast him an apologetic smile, to which Tooru simply shook his head to let her know the apology wasn’t necessary. He understood his parents needed to work. They’d taken off quite a bit while trying to figure out what was wrong with him - and even more once that something came to light, “I’ll be working from home if you need anything, and Mae should be coming over later. She won’t be bringing Takeru though.”

 

“Aww. Why not?” Tooru pulled on a pout as he grabbed out a couple bowls for the two of them when the rice maker dinged.

 

There was another of those apologetic smiles, “He has a cold. And, with your immune system...well, she wanted to make sure you didn’t get sick.”

 

That made sense. It was annoying because he really enjoyed playing uncle to his little nephew, but he’d probably be pretty useless as a playmate in his current state. So...maybe it was for the best, “Mm.” Tooru hummed out in acknowledgement, taking care of scooping rice out into their bowls. He even did the honor of cracking an egg into each after carrying them to the table, “I hope he gets better soon. Being sick as a kid is the worst.”

 

A wet sound was poorly choked back by his mother in response to the comment, clearing her throat to audibly ground herself, “It is.” her voice came out remarkably even once she’d pieced herself together. Despite that fact, Tooru still felt a deep seated ache in his chest. While what he was going through was obviously difficult for him, he knew it was equally hard on his parents. They were trying to remain strong, and their strength gave him strength to some extent...but it was painful to watch them suffer.

 

It didn’t take long to steep the tea once the water came to a boil, carrying it to the table to set on a tray between their seats so they could both partake of it. Each said a thanks over their food, though Tooru’s mother’s head remained bowed quietly for a few seconds longer before they both tucked in.

 

***

 

Though they ended up doing little more than binge watch a show on Netflix, Tooru still had a good time with his sister. All things considered, he was pretty sure Mae had needed the downtime. Being a mother was difficult. Tooru, obviously, had no experience in the area, but sometimes he wound up drained after only spending a few hours with Takeru. So, he could only imagine how it was for his sister. Takeru could be a little firecracker when he wanted to.

 

Oikawa’s mother came back out of her hibernation in their home office shortly before her husband had returned home, preparing a nice - but largely bland - meal that consisted of rice, vegetables and fish. Try as he might, Tooru couldn’t get himself to eat more than a couple bites of the protein part of the meal. The rice and vegetables went down easier, but even those were partaken of sparingly to assure he didn’t overdo it and cause his stomach to revolt. He needed all the nutrition he could get at the moment.

 

Mae left following dinner clean up, and Tooru excused himself to his room under the guise of going to sleep. Rather than do so immediately, he ended up sprawling out on his futon with his phone in hand. It’d been left on his desk and largely forgotten all day, which meant he had a number of unread text messages. A few from Iwaizumi, a couple from Mattsun and Makki, quite a few from girls in his fanclub (God only knew how they’d gotten hold of his number), and exactly one from Tobio. Or, as his phone listed him, ‘VolleyBrat™’.

 

He took the time to respond to Iwaizumi first. As gruff as he could be, Tooru knew that his friend was worried about him. He’d been the only person who’d consistently visited him every day while he was in the hospital, and that alone spoke volumes to Hajime’s character. Their personalities were largely opposite, but they’d remained best friends nearly their entire lives for a reason.

 

After reading what Makki and Mattsun had to say, Tooru decided _against_ replying to them. They were being their usual jokester selves; and, while he wouldn’t have had them any other way, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with that amount of nonsense just yet. If they wanted to know whether or not he was doing alright, they could always talk to Iwa-chan.

 

Simple texts of gratitude went out to the handful of girls who’d messaged him well wishes, though he didn’t respond to any further comments that may have followed. That left him with Tobio. And whether or not he even wanted to see what his kouhai had sent. His finger hovered over the message for several seconds before finally clicking the screen. A number of emojis were waiting for him, but no actual text. Had Tobio somehow butt-texted him? Was that even possible?

 

Tooru sent back the simplest text possible in the form of a single question mark--which was responded to in under a minute. _Hi grand king!_

 

That...wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all, but it didn’t take a genius to realize who the message must have come from. _Shrimpy?_

 

 _How did you know?!_ Tooru scoffed at Hinata’s response. It was no wonder he and Tobio got on so well. They were both imbeciles.

 

 _Who else calls me ‘grand king’?_ He’d come to the understanding that the rest of the crows understood who the shrimp was talking about when he called him that, but he’d never heard any of the others use the terminology.

 

 _Oh. You’ve got me there._ Oikawa shook his head, one lip corner twitching up in lazy amusement before he received yet another text. _I was trying to say get well soon! Maybe I picked the wrong emojis_.

 

Tooru waited a few seconds following to see if anything else would come through before tapping out another message that didn’t address Hinata’s use of emojis in the slightest. _Why do you have Tobio’s phone?_

 

There was a considerably longer rift between texts following his question. When the phone finally buzzed against his palm, he was on the verge of nodding off. _Sorry, Oikawa-san._

 

Ah. There he was. _Don’t worry about it, Tobio-chan._ To which he received a simple ‘ _Ok_ ’ in response. Yeah, that was definitely Tobio. He could only imagine what manner of abuse the little decoy went through as a result of snagging the setter’s phone. A part of him wished he could have witnessed it in person.

 

Tooru was just settling in to try to sleep - on purpose this time - when his phone buzzed again. _See you this weekend._ In his stupor, he didn’t notice the contact tag ‘VolleyBrat’ sitting at the top of his screen. An oblivious ‘ _See you_ ’ was sent in reply, with the expectation that it was going off to one of the other Seijou third years. Once sent, he settled his cell to the floor beside his futon and let his eyes slide shut at last. As lazy as his day had been, Tooru felt positively exhausted. His body was trying to heal from what it’d been through, and the best thing he could do for himself was sleep. It wasn’t long before he was diving into a dreamscape that had him standing on the national court. Volleyball in hand. Wearing his red jersey with pride.


	10. Party (Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, getting this chapter out was like pulling teeth. Writer's block is a bitch! My serious apologies for the delay!

***

He’d been to the side of town Seijou was in many times now, but he’d never found himself in the residential area. According to the directions that Iwaizumi had sent him, Oikawa didn’t live a great ways from the bus stop, so Tobio had regrettably strong faith in his ability to find his way there without any issues arising. He  _ had _ made his way to Tokyo without getting  _ too _ lost...and yet, somehow, he’d managed to make a wrong turn in the heart of Miyagi.

 

After flipping through his phone, Tobio selected Iwaizumi’s number from his contacts and lifted the cell to his ear to listen to it ring through a total of three times before the other end picked up, “What’s up?”

 

“Iwaizumi-san. I think I made a wrong turn.” he sounded more irked than alarmed, and it promoted a small scoff from Hajime.

 

“What street’re you on? I’m about to head out myself. I’ll come find you.” it took Tobio a minute to find the street sign, rattling the name off to the other once he had.

 

***

 

He stood right there beside the street marker, as requested by his former senpai, occasionally glancing at the time on his phone until the familiar figure came into view. With his cell pocketed and satchel adjusted on his shoulder, he made his way over to meet Iwaizumi in the middle.

 

“Lucky for you,” the ace piped up once Tobio was close enough so as to make it unnecessary for him to raise his voice, “You’re only a couple streets shy of your mark.” he gestured down the road before setting off in that direction. Kageyama matched his pace so they could walk side by side. Neither of them were the talkative sort, so they said very little on their short trip to Oikawa’s front door--not until they stopped right before it and Iwaizumi placed a firm hand on the setter’s shoulder, “I can’t promise he’s not going to by an ass, but...I’ll stick up for you if I have to, since I was the one that invited you.” technically speaking, it was Oikawa’s parents who’d done the inviting, but they’d used Hajime as a vessel to get their message across.

 

A nod from Tobio, and Iwaizumi gave a brief knock to the door before letting himself inside. Tooru’s mother was there to welcome them shortly after they stepped into the entry, wiping flour coated hands off on the apron she wore, “Oh, Hajime. Welcome.” her gaze moved from the familiar face to the less familiar one, resulting in Tobio bowing low in greeting, “Kageyama-kun, was it?” she smiled when she received an affirming nod from Iwaizumi, “Please, come in. Make yourselves at home. Tooru hasn’t come down yet, but almost everyone is here.”

 

Once they’d stepped out of their shoes, Iwaizumi and Kageyama made their way deeper into the house - the latter following in the ace’s footsteps since he was on foreign, and potentially hostile, ground. When they rounded the corner at the end of the entry, two familiar faces came into view. 

 

Makki whistled, “Well, well. What do we have here?” he locked onto Tobio with a grin before shifting his focus onto Iwaizumi. Mattsun didn’t say anything immediately, but his eyes mimed those of his teammate nigh in unison.

 

“Be nice.” Iwaizumi muttered, looking from his teammates to his former kouhai, “I’m not sure if you recognize these two idiots, but they were on our team. Hanamaki,” he gestured to one, and then to the other, “Matsukawa.” 

 

“And we already know  _ Tobio-chan. _ ” Makki piped up with his very best Oikawa impersonation, to which both Iwaizumi and Kageyama cringed in unison, “No, but seriously. What do we call you?”

 

“Just...Kageyama is fine.” Tobio responded. Even those on his own team called him that.

 

“Kageyama-kun.” Makki grinned, looking from Tobio to Hajime, “But doesn’t Oikawa not like this guy?” he had a finger pointed at the crow as he asked.

 

“...He doesn’t  _ not _ hate him.” Iwaizumi replied honestly, “But, he spent some time in the hospital with him, and Oikawa’s parents got to meet him, so…” he shrugged, “they wanted him to come.”

 

Matsukawa smirked, resting his elbow on the tabletop to allow for his cheek to fall into his hand like a perch, “This should be interesting.”

 

“Hajime,” Oikawa’s mother piped up, “Would you help me get some things out of the fridge? I’m sure you boys are hungry.”

 

“I’ll be right there.” he responded, looking in the direction the voice had come from, “Find a place to sit.” Iwaizumi gestured from Tobio to the table before disappearing into the kitchen.

 

With Makki and Mattsun sitting on one side of the table, Tobio found himself a seat on the opposite, “Drink?” Matsukawa broke into the relative quiet, reaching down beside his seat to shuffle through an ice filled cooler, “We’ve got soda. Juice. There’s beer in here too, but somehow I don’t think that’s for us.” not that that stopped him from looking at Tobio quizzically when he mentioned it.

 

“Juice.” it wasn’t what he usually went for, but at least it was healthier than soda. The beer wasn’t even part of the equation. Tobio put out a hand as Matsukawa rolled a bottle to him, picking it up to briefly examine the label before cracking the seal to pop it open so he could have a drink.

 

It wasn’t long before the table was filled with all manner of snack for the boys to partake of. Tobio’s comfort level raised a degree when Iwaizumi returned to the table to join him and the other Seijou boys. That was, at least, until a familiar voice sounded from upstairs and his stomach clenched expectantly for impact, “Smells like cake in here! Man. What’re we celebrating?”

 

Everyone at the table looked up when Oikawa rounded the corner into the dining room to join the masses, a gray beanie seated atop his head with nary a stray hair poking out from beneath. His features visibly changed as his gaze rounded the table from his teammates to one very out of place crow, “...Whose idea of a joke is this?” a finger pointed as impolitely as possible directly at said ‘joke’.

 

“Your mother’s.” Iwaizumi replied as he reached out to knock his friend’s hand down.

 

“What joke did I make?” Oikawa’s mom piped up from the kitchen, “Was it at least a good one?”

 

“Nothing! You didn’t make one!” Tooru answered, his tone chipper enough despite what he’d said, “Honestly…” he muttered under his breath and dropped into one of the available seats, his lips forming into an undeniable frown.

 

It seemed he was about to pipe up again when his mother returned to the scene, “Your sister and Takeru are on their way.” one freshly cleaned hand smoothed over Tooru’s head, careful not to disturb the hat he wore, “Can I get you anything?”

 

“I think...if I can’t find at least  _ something _ to enjoy out of this smorgasborg you’ve got out, then I’m probably a lost cause.” he chuckled, his facial features considerably gentler than they had been prior to the woman joining them.

 

That was a face Tobio had seldom seen on Tooru. Maybe it wasn’t an entirely honest look, but there remained some amount of honestly attached to it. He may have been emotionally dumb in a lot of ways, but even Tobio could see the visible affection between mother and child. Something about it made his chest hurt in a manner he wasn’t at all accustomed to. But...he felt happy too. The fact that Oikawa had a family that cared for him while he was going through something so trying actually brought him relief. He’d barely gotten the chance to see how they interacted with one another in the hospital, but it’d been a small window into the way things were at home.

 

A knock sounded at the door shortly thereafter, followed by two voices as they let themselves inside. Oikawa’s mother slid her hand from her son and made her way down the hall to greet the owners of the voices, one small body beating her to it as Oikawa’s nephew shot down the hall past her with the sprinting energy that children so often carried, “Tooru-oji!” Takeru was holding a volleyball overhead, planting it none too carefully into his uncle’s lap.

 

It didn’t hit its mark on the dot, but Tooru definitely flinched with the visible sign that Takeru may have hit the periphery of something significant, “Geez, Takeru!” he put his hands on the ball, pushing it towards the better of his two knees to get it away from his hips, “Careful with that.”

 

All the Seijou boys cringed on impact, and even Tobio knew well enough to feel discomfort at the prospect of what might have gotten hurt during the exchange, before Makki made a comment, “Should he be careful with  _ his  _ ball or yours?”

 

“...Makki!” Tooru bit out, eyeing his teammate, “There’s a  _ child _ in the room.” Hanamaki put his hands up in apology, though the grin on his lips spoke otherwise. Rather than say anything else, he tucked into the snacks that’d been set out on the table to get the feast started. Mattsun grabbed a handful of chips mere seconds behind him.

 

Takeru was following the older kids with his eyes, but he eventually turned his focus back onto Tooru, completely oblivious as to what they were going on about, “I won my game!”

 

What Tobio got to see on his senpai’s face following that news from his nephew made his chest clench. Tooru’s features lit up with something remarkably honest that fell between joy and pride, “Did you really?” 

 

The kid nodded emphatically, eyes shutting as Tooru ruffled a hand over his buzzed head, Oikawa’s sister rounding the corner during the exchange, “He couldn’t wait to tell you the news.”

 

“Well, I can understand why! That’s exciting.” Tooru grinned, carefully removing the volleyball from his lap in order to hand it back to his nephew, “You know, I bet if you ask these guys really nice, they might be willing to toss the ball around with you later.” gesturing to the other players at the table as he said it. 

 

“You know I’m game.” Iwaizumi stated helpfully as he smiled down at the kid.

 

By and large, Oikawa seemed to be ignoring the fact that his self-proclaimed rival was there with them. He wasn’t sure whether or not it was intentional, but Tobio honestly didn’t mind it. So long as he wasn’t upsetting Oikawa, and Oikawa wasn’t picking at him, then he was fine with the way things were. He could only hope that the general congeniality of the setting continued on throughout the party.


	11. Party (Part II)

Though he didn’t have much to add to the conversation, Tobio still tried to follow what was being said by the Seijou third years. They nattered on until almost all the snacks that had been laid out were down to nil. The only one among them who seemed to be without appetite was the one person everyone was  _ expecting _ to skimp out on the food. It wasn’t as though Tooru didn’t appear to be making an attempt, but there was visible distaste that came over his face with nearly everything he put in his mouth. Not even water seemed to be palatable. 

 

_ Was it always like this, or was Oikawa-san having a bad day? He wasn’t as bad off as he’d seemed in the hospital, but that wasn’t really saying anything. _

 

“Tooru.” Takeru spoke up as he finished off the last onigiri on the table, pulling Kageyama out of his thoughts, “Can we toss a ball around now?”

 

“Hmmm. I don’t know. What do you say, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa looked at the ace, planting a hand atop his nephew’s buzzcut as his focus moved over to his other two teammates, “Makki, Mattsun?”

 

“You know I’m up for it.” Iwaizumi fixed Takeru with a grin, the other two third years giving the kid a thumbs up to show their approval, “What about you, Kageyama-kun?” 

 

Tobio hadn’t been expecting an invitation, his back straightening as he looked in surprise at his former senpai, “Ah…” he started to respond, managing to reel his excitement back in long enough to slide his gaze onto Oikawa, looking for some sort of approval. The elder setter was obviously displeased that he was there, so he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries anymore than he already had.

 

A single brow raised as Tooru made eye contact with him, lips thinning into a line before he shrugged, “If Takeru says it’s fine, then it’s fine.” the kid was only too eager to nod, holding up his ball after wiping a few stray grains of rice off on his shirt. Adding Tobio in while Tooru was unable to play along would give them an uneven number of players, but...if they said it was fine, then it was fine. Plus, one of those players was a kid, and that put him at an obvious disadvantage to the others.

 

Oikawa was the last one to get to his feet, putting light pressure on his right leg. It took him all of a few seconds to realize that all eyes were on him, “...I’m  _ fine _ ! Go! Shoo!” his hands waved towards the door that led to their backyard, everyone milling in that direction.

 

Iwaizumi was at the back of the lineup, his voice low as he spoke up to his friend, “If you need help, don’t be stubborn.” quiet or not, Tobio heard loud and clear all the same, “Got it?”

 

“I  _ got _ it.” Tooru sounded irritated, but his tone softened by the time he opened his mouth again to deliver a short, “...Thanks.”

 

***

 

Despite his obvious handicap, Oikawa did hazard an attempt at playing for a short time before eventually claiming a chair on the porch instead to play spectator to the chaos. At some point between ‘sets’, he made his way back inside. Everyone took note, but no one immediately stopped playing. Takeru was still enjoying himself, and that’d been the whole reason why their not at all aggressive battle had started - and it was why it continued.

 

Tobio ended up excusing himself in order to use the bathroom, leaving the remaining four to continue on without him. Oikawa’s mother and sister were seated at the dining table just inside. They’d been talking about Tooru, or so Tobio gathered since he had heard one of them speak his name, but the conversation cut off when he barged into the room. It wasn’t until he’d pulled his shoes off that he realized he didn’t actually know where the bathroom was - which led him to awkwardly look between the two women before piping up to question it, “...Bathroom?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Oikawa’s mom took up the question, lightly clearing her throat as she pointed towards their staircase, “Up there and to the right.”

 

After a short bow of his head in gratitude, Tobio headed that way. It was easy enough to find. There were a total of three doors on the second story on one long stretch of hallway, and the bathroom door was wide open and settled directly in the middle of the other two. He made short work of taking care of his business and washing his hands and face before stepping back out, pausing briefly once back in the hall to wipe still slightly damp hands off on the tail of his t-shirt--before a sound down the way caught his attention.

 

Tobio glanced to the stairway first, and then past it to the first door at the end of the hall. His brow knit as he made his way over, pausing a mere step away from the shut surface as that same sound caught his attention. Now that he was close enough to hear it properly, he was almost certain that sound signified someone in pain.

 

It took some doing to muster up the courage before he lifted a hand to palm the door, leaning towards the surface, “...Oikawa-san?” His question was followed by rustling on the other side, and a stifled voice, but he received nothing further, “...Are you okay?”

 

The relative quiet was broken by the elder setter’s voice, “Of course I’m not okay!” 

 

Even if he was accustomed to Oikawa being unkind to him, Tobio still flinched away from the door, “...I know.” he pulled his courage back together. Somehow, talking with the older setter in his own home was considerably more daunting than it had been at the hospital, “If there’s anything you need...I want to help.” he tried, “Everyone else is still outside, so...if you want one of them to help, I can get someone.” even if Oikawa wanted to maintain the stubbornness he harbored specifically for him, Tobio still wanted to assist - even if all he could do was get another person. Someone Tooru liked and trusted more than him.

 

Which was exactly what he’d been expecting to happen before that disgruntled voice sounded on the other side of the door again, “...Come in. And shut the door behind you.”

 

A mingling of excitement and terror washed hot and cold over his gut before he finally willed himself to step inside. He didn’t so much as try to  _ look _ for his senpai until the door had been shut, as requested. Only then did he finally turn around--and not only look at Tooru, but at the room as a whole. It was really...simple. Traditional. Less gaudy that he would’ve imagined. And Oikawa was in the middle of it all, laying on his futon, his bad leg propped up with a pillow.

 

“You smell like sweat.” the elder boy muttered, which prompted Tobio to sniff himself, “No, don’t...ugh.” Oikawa groaned, “Just get over here.”

 

Tobio didn’t have to be told twice. He made his way over, crouching down directly beside the futon, “What do you--ow!” he hissed as a hand suddenly grasped his wrist painfully tight, wincing beneath the pressure. Despite the pain, he didn’t ask Oikawa to let go. Not when he saw his senpai’s face and realized  _ why _ he’d decided to use his arm like a stress ball.

 

A curse whimpered out of the elder setter, eyes pinched shut as he worked through whatever it was he was dealing with, “I’ve taken...my pain killers. But, it’s not…” nails dug against Tobio’s flesh, causing the crow to flinch - but not to pull away, “I shouldn’t have…” Tooru bit out wetly, cutting himself off and turning his head away from the other.

 

He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say or do. Maybe nothing. Maybe all Oikawa needed him for was to hold onto something and share a portion of his pain. Even if the other boy wanted nothing from him, Tobio still ended up moving his free hand over to cup around the outside of Tooru’s own, loosely holding it as it bruised his arm. He almost ejected from his senpai when he felt him start to tremble, but instead tightened his hold--which only brought more worry along when visible moisture began leaking down Oikawa’s face.

 

“Oika--” he started, getting cut off by the other.

 

“--Don’t. Just...don’t say anything.” his voice small, tremulous, so unlike the vociferous and troublesome person Tobio knew. 

 

The sheer sound and quality of those pain laden words sealed his lips, leaving him to do little more than nod and remain exactly as he was. There would undoubtedly be bruising on his wrist from Oikawa’s hold, but he let the other boy have it. If it helped, even a small amount, then he was glad to share in whatever pain his senpai may have been dealing with. Maybe ‘glad’ was the wrong word choice for the moment, but he couldn’t help but be a  _ little _ pleased by the fact that the other boy  _ needed _ him for something.

 

***

 

It was some time before Tooru finally came down from what he’d been going through. Once he did, the setter crashed within minutes. His hand softened on Tobio’s wrist, but fingers remained loosely curled around the rapidly darkening flesh. Even then, the crow didn’t move away. He’d shifted from a crouching position to a sitting one once his legs had started falling to sleep, but he’d been otherwise immobile throughout.

 

Now that Oikawa was asleep, his features were starting to soften from the tight knit they’d been bunched into, and the snot and tears had slowed to a stop. After a moment’s thought, Tobio uncurled his hand from the back of his senpai’s and reached across his body to use the edge of his sheets to clean away some of the mess on his face. There was only so much he could do without outright waking Oikawa back up, but he tried his best before tucking that corner of the sheet back to let it dry out - settling back into place after.

 

Even Tobio was starting to doze by the time someone else showed up. A light knock on the door pulled him out of the begins of a stupor, looking in that direction as it opened up to reveal a surprised looking Iwaizumi, “I thought you’d left until I noticed your shoes.” his voice was quiet, trying not to wake the sleeping beast, “What happened?”

 

“Oikawa-san was in pain.” his own tone soft enough, but the one being talked about still shifted in his sleep - fingers unconsciously tightening on Tobio’s wrist for a few seconds before letting go, “He hasn’t been asleep long.” the younger setter murmured softer yet, “I don’t want to wake him.” seeing another person in pain to that extent, especially someone who held a manner of significance in his life, had been a very trying experience for the crow.

 

Iwaizumi knelt down as quietly as he could manage at Kageyama’s side, carefully removing Oikawa’s hand from the other boy and settling it to the bed, “Just how hard was he holding on?” it didn’t take much to notice the discoloration on his former kouhai, but he waved his own question off rather than making the other answer, “Come on. The sun’s getting ready to set. I’ll walk you to the bus stop.”

 

A nod, and both got to their feet at once. Iwaizumi took a moment to glance at his friend with a face that read equal parts concerned and annoyed before turning his focus onto Tobio - whose own concern, and exhaustion, was all but legible on his features.

 

“Come on.” the words were repeated before Tobio finally followed Iwaizumi out of the room, quietly shutting the bedroom door behind them.


	12. A Crack in the Wall

Groggy. He felt so groggy. Tooru groaned as he rolled over onto his side to check the time, pawing around for his phone and coming up empty, “Where the hell…?” he murmured incoherently as he pressed himself up to sit. The pain he’d been dealing with the night prior had dulled to something he could stand, allowing him to get up onto his own two feet to head out the door - still adorned in the same clothing he’d been wearing the day prior (which really needed a good wash).

 

He almost ran into his mom on the way downstairs while scrubbing sleep from his eyes, offering her an apologetic smile, “Sorry. Still half asleep.” the tail end of his sentiment hollowing out into a yawn.

 

“Well, wake yourself up and try to eat something.” she smiled, though it looked a bit strained, “Hajime stayed over. He’s in the kitchen finishing up breakfast now.”

 

Once they were able to maneuver around one another, Tooru made his way into the kitchen with a low hum, “Morning, Iwa-chan~.” he chimed with a characteristic smile, “What happened, hm? Takeru wear you out yesterday?” his tone teasing as he made his way to the stove to check out what his options were.

 

“That kid doesn’t stop once you toss a ball to him.” Iwaizumi replied, shoveling a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

 

“Mm. With any luck, he’ll grow up to be just like his uncle~.” Oikawa divvied out a surprisingly decent amount of rice and egg onto his plate. He was feeling hungry that morning, so he planned on taking full advantage of the situation, “How long did everyone end up staying last night?” he made a detour to the fridge to grab himself a bottle of water before finally heading to the table to take a seat. 

 

“Everyone but me and Kageyama left right after we played our final ‘match’.” using air quotes as he spoke the word.

 

Tooru could all but feel Hajime’s eyes on him as he shoveled a mouthful of food into his maw. Only once he’d chewed and swallowed did he respond, “Did you have to peel Tobio-chan off the court~?” he crooned out in a teasing mime.

 

“No.” Iwa responded bluntly, still staring his friend down, “He left the game first.”

 

A brow rose, “Well that’s strange.” Tooru hummed, gathering up some more of his food, “Then what the hell was he doing?” a patch of awkward silence followed for a few seconds which prompted the setter to frown and speak up again, “...What? It’s not like I think he was burglarizing my house or anything.” though, he supposed that was a possibility. 

 

Tooru finally pushed more food into his mouth when Hajime decided to respond, “You really don’t remember?” he tisked, “Just how out of it were you?”

 

That gave him pause. He washed the rice and egg mixture down before fixing Iwaizumi with a confused look, “What’re you talking abo--”

 

Iwaizumi cut him off, “He was with  _ you _ .” after scooping the last bit of food off his plate to take it down, the ace stood and made to rinse his dishes off in the sink.

 

“...What do you mean he was with me?!” maybe...he sort of remembered that. Between the pain and drug induced haze he’d been in, it was honestly a miracle he remembered anything at all.

 

“I meant what I said.” Iwaizumi clicked his tongue in annoyance, “When I found him, he was in your room.  _ You _ were holding onto  _ him _ .”

 

Tooru blinked owlishly at the other, “...Huh?” surely that wasn’t right. Why would he ever find reason to hold onto Tobio?

 

“He left here with a bruise because of you. You should  _ thank _ him.”

 

_ Huh??  _ A bruise? Thank him? “Why the hell…” he trailed, mostly ignoring his food at that point.

 

“Not that I think you  _ will _ , but you  _ should. _ ” Iwaizumi reasoned, “He’s a good kid.”

 

Tooru’s brows forwarded, swiveling his focus back onto his plate, “...You’re ruining my appetite, Iwa-chan.” he muttered, moving his food around rather than eating it.

 

“Yeah, well...I’m heading home now. So get your appetite back.” he planted a hand against the top of Tooru’s shoulder in passing, giving it a squeeze, “I can tell how much weight you’ve lost.” Hajime cleared his throat, giving that shoulder one more pat before peeling his hand free to make his way for the door. 

 

Tooru could hear ‘goodbyes’ being called out between Iwaizumi and his mother before the front door clicked to announce Hajime’s departure. Though he tried for a couple more bites, his stomach ended up shutting him out. He cursed both his friend and his rival in one breath, despite knowing that it wasn’t actually either of their fault.

 

***

 

It was well into the afternoon when Oikawa found himself home alone. Iwa-chan had long since left. His father was still at work, and his mother had gone out grocery shopping. Now Tooru was stuck with naught but his own thoughts and the lingering burn of bile in the back of his throat. 

 

He held his phone overhead as he laid out on his futon, staring at the screen and at one particularly annoying name glaring brightly at him from his list of contacts. Why should he thank Tobio? It wasn’t like he’d  _ asked _ him to stay, right? ...Had he? He couldn’t remember. Not fully. Yesterday was a haze. More and more of his days were becoming like that, as though he was living inside a pea soup fog.

 

“...Dammit.” Tooru grumbled, finally selecting Tobio’s name to send off a text.  _ Hey. _ That was ambiguous enough, wasn’t it?

 

The response came far quicker than expected:  _ Hello, Oikawa-san. _

 

Okay, so that was pretty ambiguous too. But, he supposed it wasn’t a bad thing.  _ Iwa-chan said I hurt you _ .  _ I guess I should apologize. I don’t remember doing it. _ It wasn’t the ‘thanks’ that Hajime wanted him to give, but at least he was apologizing...sort of. So, that was something.

 

There was a longer than expected pause that followed. Long enough that Tooru started to feel awkward about his text - before he finally received Tobio’s response:  _ You don’t need to apologize. I was happy to help. _ A shorter pause, and another message followed just as Tooru had begun typing up his own.  _ I don’t mean happy. I wasn’t happy.  _ His brow raised as he stared at the screen, thumbs hesitating as they hovered over the keyboard.  _ I mean, I was happy you needed my help. I just wish you didn’t need it. _ Tooru’s lips pursed for a moment before he chuckled aloud.

 

“This idiot. Why are you like this, Tobio-chan?”

 

_ Geez. Make me feel special, why don’t you? _ He finally messaged back, a lopsided grin remaining on his lips.

 

_ ‘Sorry’ _ was the short text he received in response, causing Tooru to roll his eyes. At least Tobio had caught onto his sarcasm, so he wasn’t a  _ complete _ idiot. Just a partial one.

 

Though he took his good sweet time messaging back, Tooru finally decided on something that would make Iwaizumi moderately proud.  _ I appreciate it.  _ He followed his text up with a peace sign emoji and left it at that.

 

Tobio did send back an eventual ‘ _ You’re welcome _ ’, plus a thumbs up emoji, but their conversation came to a close afterwards.

 

Even now, it was strange being ‘friendly’ with his rival. Not that they were actually ‘friendly’, but he was at least talking with Kageyama without being a  _ complete _ ass...which was sort of a personal accomplishment. It would be some time before they were able to battle on the court again, so there was no reason to harass his uselessly adorable kouhai. Well...not anymore than usual. Tooru could hardly help the way he reacted to the younger setter’s presence sometimes. It was a knee jerk reaction.

 

***

 

He woke up gradually the following morning, but it wasn’t a happy wakeup. Tooru carefully rolled onto his back and used his arms to drag his all but useless lower body towards his door - pulling it open to stick his head out, “Mom??” he called, his voice still hoarse with sleep. Silence followed. After clearing his throat, Tooru tried again and frowned when he again went without reply. Was he home alone again?

 

“Dammit.” he hissed. The pain wasn’t nearly what it’d been during the party, but it certainly wasn’t enjoyable. In the end, he used the doorframe to drag himself up to his feet - largely keeping his weight on the left while the right hardly scraped the floor, “This is...ridiculous…” he panted, grabbing his bottle of painkillers as he slowly limped his way downstairs, “I hate this…” Tooru muttered to himself, making his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge, “I hate this…” he repeated, opening the pills up first and the water second, “I hate…” he choked, staring down into the bottle as warmth rose in his throat.

 

The sound of the front door clicking open caused him to squash his emotions on impact, quickly using the tail of his shirt to scrub over his face before popping a couple pills and washing them down, “Welcome home.” he called out once he was certain his voice would come out even, smiling at his mother as she came into view.

 

“Good morning!” she smiled right back, “Your father asked me to bring him his wallet. Can you believe he forgot it this morning?” she chuckled as she set her purse down on the counter, Tooru chuckling along with her, “I don’t know what that man would do without me.”

 

It was easy enough to set into a mindless conversation while the medication got to working, helping Tooru to keep his mind off of...well, everything. While his mom put together sandwiches for both of them, he moved to take a seat at the table - using one of the other chairs to prop his leg up.

 

***

 

The sandwich went down and stayed down, and the medicine did what it was supposed to do. That in and of itself was a miracle. By the time evening rolled around, Tooru and his mother had sat through exactly two B-rate Sci-Fi movies. Neither of them were any good, but both of them were  _ bad _ enough that the two of them ended up laughing through the majority of the nonsense.

 

“Oh my goodness.” Oikawa’s mother yawned and stretched, “I guess I should put dinner on before your father gets home.” she pushed herself up from the couch, fixing her son with a smile, “Is there anything you want?” 

 

Tooru knew what she meant. Was there anything that he thought he could stomach, “...Ochazuke?” his features were almost apologetic as he returned his mother’s smile.

 

“Of course.” she patted the top of his head before retreating to the kitchen. While she was there, Tooru settled back in with whatever made-for-TV movie was next on the list, unconsciously lifting a hand to smooth back through his ever thinning mane.

 

He was starting to flounder for consciousness around the time his father made it home, rousing enough to greet him. It felt like he’d been seeing less and less of him lately, but work had definitely been treating his old man roughly, so it wasn’t that surprising. 

 

Dinner was served by the time his movie was coming to a close - his mother bringing it to the living room to eat rather than making Tooru walk to the table. As much as he appreciated it, Tooru wished she didn’t have to baby him. He even felt momentarily annoyed; but...it wasn’t annoyance  _ at _ anyone. Rather, he was annoyed at the situation. If anything, he felt nothing but gratitude towards his parents. They’d been handling the whole shitty situation like champs. His mother especially.

 

After eating exactly half his meal, Oikawa excused himself. He took the time to down another couple pills, grabbing the bottle and a drink to bring upstairs with him ‘just in case’. It was only after he’d washed up and crawled into bed that Tooru’s emotions from that morning finally allowed themselves to boil over, his pillow damp with silent tears by the time consciousness left him in a drugged up haze.


	13. Double Date? Part 1

How many times had he turned his razor on and off already? He knew he was wasting time over something inevitable, and he’d reasoned with himself that there was no reason he  _ should _ . His hair looked terrible. It was dry, patchy, and still falling out in clumps at the most inconvenient times, “Just  _ do it _ , Tooru.” Oikawa barked at his reflection, finally turning the razor on and leaving it on as he lifted it to his hairline. The first sweep went right down the middle of his head, leaving him with what was essentially a reverse mohawk. After staring at himself for several seconds, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous sight, “Look at  _ this _ idiot.” It didn’t take him long to shave his head clean once he’d relieved himself of that comical first strip. There was still a velvet fuzz of brown left in the places where his hair had yet to fall out, but that was fine. It looked better than it had. 

 

A shower to clean any stray hairs from his body, and Tooru tossed on what were becoming increasingly loose trainers and a t-shirt so he could make his way downstairs. His mother had stopped staying home with him quite as often, now that he seemed to be feeling better. It’d been a week since the party she’d hosted, and Tooru was finally keeping food down on a more regular basis. His body was a long ways from recuperating, but he was feeling marginally more like himself. He wasn’t going to risk a run on his knee, but he did decide to embark on a walk. It was better than staying home with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

 

After tossing on a jacket that reasonably matched his trainers, and a beanie over his freshly shaven head, Tooru headed outside. His destination wasn’t far - rounding the block that’d take him to Iwaizumi’s house. He knew the path well enough that he could’ve made it blindfolded...but, it just felt so  _ far _ . So much further than it’d ever felt before. There was certainly an ache in his leg from the trip, but he largely ignored it in favor of enjoying getting out of the house for the first time in what felt like ages.

 

He didn’t hesitate to let himself inside without so much as knocking on the door. Usually, he would have announced his presence. As it was, it was still early and he didn’t want to risk waking anyone. A short trip to the kitchen profited him a bottle of water which he carted along with him to Iwaizumi’s room. There, he rapped his knuckles against the door to assure he didn’t walk in on anything unsavory before letting himself inside when no response came from his friend.

 

Hajime was still very much asleep in his bed, and Tooru took it upon himself to drop directly atop the other’s body like lead because apparently that was the appropriate way to wake someone. Or...at least it was the appropriate way to wake  _ Iwa-chan _ .

 

A loud grunt issued from the ace as he lazily squabbled beneath that heavy body, “...Fat. You’re so...fat…” he muttered out sleepily.

 

“ _ Rude _ , Iwa-chan. If anything, I’m extra slender for your pleasure.” Tooru grinned, rolling off the other to lay beside him instead.

 

“Wouldn’t that be ‘ribbed for my pleasure’?” he pointed out, peeking one verdant hue open to turn it onto the skeletal iteration of his once fit friend.

 

The cogs in the setter’s head visibly turned behind his eyes before a grin spread across his lips, “That’s pretty fitting. So, yeah. Ribbed for Iwa-chan’s pleasure.”

 

“Mn.” Hajime groaned, rolling his face down into the bed so his voice muffled when he spoke back up, “You’re in a good mood.”

 

“Of course I am. I ate an entire loaf of melon bread last night and I  _ didn’t _ throw it up.” he sighed happily, “I did have some wicked diarrhea though.” that was actually a lie, but he said it specifically to get a reaction out of Iwaizumi.

 

“...You’re so gross.” Hajime frowned into his pillow before rolling his focus right back onto Oikawa’s stupid smiling face, “But...good. I’m glad you kept something down.” it wasn’t the most nutritional thing in the world, but it was some sort of sustenance, and that was really all that mattered these days.

 

“So, I was thinking…” Tooru piped back up, propping his head on his hand so he could look down at the ace, “You should treat me to lunch today. Or...brunch. Whatever. To celebrate.” he wasn’t sure how well that’d go, but he just wanted to get out of the house! “We can take the bus into town and go to that one soba place you like. What do you say?”

 

“...You mean the place  _ you _ really like?” Iwaizumi scoffed, starting to wake up more and more all the time, “I actually have plans today.” he muttered, propping himself up to mimic the other, his free hand scrubbing sleep from his eyes.

 

Oikawa’s features visibly fell at the news, “...Oh.” that was fine. Maybe going out to eat wasn’t that great of an idea after all? Yeah, it definitely wasn’t. He’d just hang out with Iwaizumi for a little while and then he’d go home. That was fine. Really...it was fine.

 

As though he could read all that was being thought behind the sheen of Tooru’s eyes, Iwaizumi continued on in another thread, “...But, you can go with me.” he offered, “Well, with  _ us _ .” that qualifying ‘us’ caused a look like a confused mutt to come over the setter’s face, “...I invited Shouyou out for lunch today.”

 

For a total of three seconds, Tooru looked positively confused before putting two and two together, “Oh! The shrimp!” actually, that just made things more confusing, “...Why him? I didn’t even realize you two knew each other well enough for something like that.” maybe his cancer was bringing everyone together? That was sort of ironic.

 

“Uh. Yeah. No. We don’t really…” Hajime trailed, “But, it’s a good way to get to know each other.”

 

Tooru blinked owlishly at the other, eyes slowly widening as he sucked his lips in between his teeth to do a poor job of hiding a smile, “Iwa-chan~.” he chimed.

 

“...Don’t.”

 

“Does Iwa-chan have a--”

 

“Don’t you dare--”

 

“Does he have a  _ crush _ on the shrimnff~?” his voice cut off by a hand shoving against his mouth--which Tooru promptly licked to relieve himself of, “You do?!”

 

The red on Hajime’s cheeks was undeniable. Tooru didn’t even try to fight it when the other wiped his spit off on his shirt, “No. Shut up.”

 

A coy grin spread over Oikawa’s lips, his eyes practically dancing as he stared his best friend down. The situation was a  _ first _ . It was usually  _ him _ who was in these sorts of scenarios, “Well, if that’s the case, it’d probably make things awkward to bring me along, don’t you think~?” he hummed out in question, looking only too amused.

 

“No. Maybe…” Iwaizumi trailed--but promptly perked up and stared Oikawa down, “...I’ll ask Shouyou to invite Kageyama.”

 

The setter’s features flooded with what could only be described as disgust, “What?? No! Now I  _ definitely _ don’t want to go.” he hadn’t so much as spoken to Tobio since he’d ‘thanked’ him, though the other boy had sent him a couple other texts during the week.

 

“Oh, shut up. I’ll even treat you. Whatever you want.”

 

Tooru perked up at that, a cheshire grin spreading over his lips, “ _ Whatever I want _ , you say~? Is that limited to food?”

 

“Wha? Ye--” Iwaizumi started to respond, but stopped at the look he received from his friend, “...No. Whatever you want,  _ within reason _ , I’ll buy.  _ Including _ lunch. How about that?”

 

“Now you’re speaking my language~.” chances were pretty good that he wouldn’t  _ actually _ ask the other for anything in particular, but he at least had that card in play.  _ Just in case _ .

 

***

 

The four of them were set to meet up at two in the afternoon - which was a late lunch, but it was a time that worked out for everyone. Tooru had gone home long enough to change into something more appropriate for a potential ‘date’ - though his beanie remained - and popped a pill before heading out to assure he wouldn’t have to worry about his knee  _ that _ much. 

 

Hinata and Kageyama reached their destination first, Iwaizumi receiving a text from the shrimp that stated as much, but he and Oikawa weren’t that far behind them. As soon as the crows came into view, he lifted a hand to wave in greeting. Tooru, however, kept his hands pocketed to stow any potential ‘friendliness’ away.

 

“Hey, Iwaizumi-san!” Shouyou piped up, grinning as blindingly bright as the sun itself, “Hey, Oikawa-san! I’m happy to see you up and moving around.” his tone positively genuine, and considerably less fearful than it usually was when he’d spoken to him in the past.

 

“Right? It’s almost like the chemo did what it was supposed to do.” Tooru smiled benignly in response before flickering his gaze onto Tobio. Or...at least onto his wrists as though to check whether or not there was an injury leftover there, “Anyway…” he cleared his throat, “Let’s head inside, yeah? I’m famished.” which was a remarkable feeling after all the hell his stomach had been through since his stay in the hospital.

 

“Yes!” his kouhai responded a bit too quick and Tooru couldn’t help but scoff at him - fixing the younger setter with a bemused grin before leading the way into the restaurant they’d picked. It certainly wasn’t the soba place he’d been considering that morning, but it was still a noodle shop so it’d work just as well.

 

Their group was led to and seated at a table along the wall, a window to one side so they could see the passing public during their stay, “I hear this place has great ramen.” Hinata piped up, “I always see it, but I never have anyone to go with.”

 

“You could just go on your own.” Tobio pointed out as though it were the most natural thing in the world, a frown flattening the line of his mouth.

 

“...No one wants to go out to eat on their own, Kageyama!” Shouyou puffed right back.

 

“Why not?” his brows came together in visible confusion, leaving the rest of the table to find humor in his obliviousness.

 

“You see, Tobio-chan,” Tooru decided to be the voice of reason, “When someone goes out to eat by himself, society views them as  _ lonely _ . Whereas, if someone goes out to eat with someone  _ else _ , they blend in with the masses.”

 

“...Oh.” was Tobio’s response, though he appeared no less confused than he had been originally.

 

Oikawa’s elbows landed atop the table, his hands coming together to make a hammock for his chin as he leant forward to settle his head atop them, “You really are completely useless in most social situations, aren’t you~?” he teased, a vague grin spreading across his lips.

 

“Knock it off.” Iwaizumi bit out, elbowing Tooru in the side, the latter whimpering in response to the abuse.

 

“Ow, Iwa-chan. I’m a patient, remember? You have to be nice to me.”

 

“How about you behave then? That way I don’t have any reason to be mean to you.” Hajime frowned, “Anyway. I didn’t hit you that hard.”

 

“But, I’m delicate.”

 

“Delicate, my ass.”

 

“Is your ass delicate? It looks strong enough to me. Don’t you think so, Shrimpy?” Tooru’s gaze swiveled around to Hinata, a curious smile spreading across his lips.

 

The decoy jolted in surprise, “Huh? I...guess so?”his gaze turned down onto the table in Iwaizumi’s direction as though he might somehow be able to see said ass through it.

 

“Oh come on--” Hajime started to say, graciously saved by their server showing up.

 

They were able to all get their drink orders in; and, by the time said drinks came back around, they were all able to put their meal orders in as well. Hinata and Kageyama ended up with identical bowls of ramen with heaping amounts of meat in them, whereas Oikawa and Iwaizumi went the tofu route - only Oikawa went bland and Iwaizumi went spicy.

 

There was plenty of idle chatter - a large dose of it between Shouyou and Tooru, given that they were the most talkative of their group, but they did a good job of dragging their friends into the conversation as well.

 

“We go to nationals next week.” Hinata brought the topic up when they were all reaching the bottoms of their bowls, “I’m excited!”

 

“You should be.” Hajime grinned, “Even though I’m jealous.”

 

He wasn’t the only one who was jealous, but Tooru didn’t have any room to talk since he hadn’t even been in Seijou’s most recent game against the crows. Recalling that fact served to sour his mood, his focus falling fully onto the remaining food before himself rather than adding to the conversation.

 

At least, that was the case until Tobio spoke up, “I wanted to beat you on the court, Oikawa-san.” his voice relatively quiet, given that he wasn’t trying to disturb Hinata and Iwaizumi who were still nattering away at each other. Tooru’s gaze lifted to his kouhai, a brow raising, “I won’t feel accomplished until then. So...make sure you get back on the court as soon as possible.” 

 

Was he...trying to make him feel better? Oikawa’s lips thinned and his eyes narrowed as he stared Tobio down for several seconds before scoffing, “Don’t worry, Tobio-chan~. Oikawa-san will get back on the court and beat you again and again, so make sure you stay off your high horse no matter how far you get in nationals.”

 

The younger setter nodded firmly, “I won’t.”


	14. Double Date? Part 2

“So, we meet again.” Oikawa chimed to his reflection, beanie in hand to expose the peach fuzz atop his head. Their group had since moved on from the restaurant to a movie theater. Iwaizumi was getting their tickets, the shrimp and Tobio had gone for snacks, and Tooru took the opportunity to make a hasty escape for the bathroom. There’d been a moment where he wasn’t sure if he was going to manage to keep his lunch down, but everything maintained intact in his belly. In fact, despite the brief upset, he actually felt pretty good. He couldn’t say the same about how he  _ looked _ , but that wasn’t exactly his highest priority these days.

 

Tooru didn’t hear the bathroom door open, but he certainly heard an unsure, “Oikawa-san?” from an irritatingly familiar voice. His gaze lifted to the mirror to find Kageyama’s face in the reflection. He looked constipated. But, maybe that was his own version of ‘sad’? It might have been endearing if the sheer thought of being  _ pitied _ weren’t positively bile inducing. 

 

“What? Need to take a shit too?” he offered up in a tone that managed to be terse and playful at the same time. Tooru didn’t want to seem  _ embarrassed _ about the way he looked, so he took his time washing his face and drying off before he was even tempted to return the hat to his head.

 

“No…” Tobio trailed. He did, however, head to the line of urinals to take care of another kind of business.

 

Rather than give him privacy, Oikawa turned to rest his back against the sink he’d been using a moment beforehand - careful to assure the lip of it hadn’t gotten wet. His arms crossed over his chest, his gaze sliding in Tobio’s general direction without laying directly on him. He wasn’t all that interested in watching his kouhai take a leak, but he wasn’t bothered by the situation either. After sharing a locker room with his teammates for so many years, it almost felt like second nature. Of course, a public restroom wasn’t  _ quite _ the same thing, but the concept was similar.

 

He hummed to himself while he waited. Realistically, he could’ve left and given the other boy the privacy he probably would have preferred...but where would the fun in that be? Tooru had something he wanted to  _ say _ , but he could at least wait until after Tobio finished taking a leak to get it out. 

 

Once the younger setter’s pants were zipped back into place, he made his way over wearing that same damn  _ pitiful _ expression that made Tooru’s blood boil, “Tobio.” he piped up as soon as the other began washing his hands, slanting his gaze over onto him, “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m seriously going to hit you.” any of the usual humor and lightness had been purposely drained from his voice in order to make a point, “Preferably with a  _ car _ , but in the absence of one I guess I’d be forced to use my fists.” he had fallen severely out of shape since he’d went through his first course of chemo, but he was sure he still had enough strength in his arms to wail on the other boy.

 

Kageyama looked almost  _ confused _ for a moment before he turned to face the mirror, trying to get a good view of his own expression, “You look like someone kicked your puppy.” Tooru added.

 

The poor idiot looked back up at his senpai with growing confusion, “I...don’t have a puppy.”

 

Tooru stared him down for several seconds, as though there were even some miniscule possibility that he was trying to make a joke, before puffing out a laugh, “You’re such a dumbass.” he rolled his eyes, shoving himself away from the sink - hands brushing down the back of his shirt to assure it was clean and dry, “It’s a turn of phrase. I meant, you look  _ sad _ .” and that was what Oikawa found himself so annoyed over.

 

“...I  _ am _ sad.” Kageyama emphasized, his brows screwing together while his hands continued to scrub against each other until an impressive lather formed, “You look sick.”

 

To which another snort of amusement came from the elder setter, “Maybe because I  _ am _ sick. You ever think about that?”

 

The crow aggressively straightened his back, “I did! I have! I...I know…” Tobio trailed, his shoulders slumping, “I just…” his hands moved in front of himself with no specific rhyme or reason as he visibly tried to figure out what he wanted to say, “...I’m sorry.” was what he finally landed on, though it didn’t really make anything better or worse.

 

Tooru’s lips pursed as he eyed the other, pocketing his hands and shifting his weight between his feet, “Yeah, well...don’t apologize to me. It’s not doing anything but pissing me off.”

 

“Sor--” Tobio started to apologize again, but immediately stopped himself and sealed his lips into a tight line.

 

“There. That’s better.” he vaguely gestured at the sink, “Your skin’s going to fall off if you keep scrubbing like that. Give it a rest already.” Tooru left their awkward conversation at that, making his way out of the bathroom. 

 

It didn’t take him much effort to put his eyes on Hajime - though he stopped from actually approaching his friend when he saw him smiling and talking with the shrimp. That also meant he’d ended up unintentionally waiting for Tobio in the hall outside the restroom, so the other boy looked quite confused to see Tooru standing there when he finally came out.

 

“Still have skin on your hands?” he questioned rather than trying to explain to the poor idiot why he hadn’t walked off on him, stifling a sound of amusement when Tobio went and showed him his palms to assure him that he did - in fact - still have skin, “Good for you.”

 

Hinata noticed them shortly thereafter, leading Iwaizumi over to where they were standing before all four of them trekked their way to the theater together. It didn’t take much effort to find themselves four seats in a row, albeit not in the very center; but, as far as Oikawa was concerned, that was perfect. He took up the spot closest to the aisle once the other three had piled in. Hajime was at his side, Shouyou beside him and Tobio the furthest one inward. It left a comfortable bumper between the opposing setters.

 

The movie itself wasn’t  _ great _ , but it wasn’t terrible either. Tooru’s main issue was the fact that he’d grown accustomed to sleeping. A lot. So, staying awake was a difficult process. Halfway through and well deep into the plot, he kept having to pinch himself to shock his eyes open. He flitted a glance at his friend here and there to see whether or not he was going to try to put the moves on the shrimp. He wasn’t  _ expecting _ it by any stretch, but he would’ve been pleasantly surprised to witness the reaction from both parties if Hajime got up the gumption. Even if Hinata ended up being disinterested, he had a good feeling that the shrimp would at least let his dear ace down easy.

 

It was around the climax of the flick that Tooru succumbed. His head bobbed a few times as sleep tried to take him over and over again before he finally slouched a little to the left and his cheek landed on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Without any bobbing going on, he was able to fall asleep and remain asleep. Thankfully, his pillow tolerated his presence enough to let him remain there until the credits started to roll. 

 

***

 

Tooru was still in a sleepy daze by the time they reached their bus stop, slumping himself atop one of the benches beneath the awning with a groan. A languid shift to one side, and he lifted his right leg up onto the seat with him to give his knee a proper breather.

 

“I’m not gonna have to carry you home, am I?” Iwaizumi frowned at him. Maybe the question didn’t  _ sound _ kind, but Tooru knew his friend well enough to acknowledge it as concern rather than callous.

 

“I’m  _ fine. _ ” Tooru responded, “Just tired.” and he really was ‘fine’. Maybe he ached a bit, but  he was a long ways off from debilitating  _ pain _ , “...So. Did you have fun today?” he hummed out, venturing the question now that they were alone.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Planning on asking the shrimp out again?”

 

“Mm.” Hajime nodded, taking a seat on the bench beside Tooru’s while they waited for their bus to show up.

 

Oikawa followed the other with his eyes, “I promise not to invade your ‘date’ next time~.” he crooned, receiving a light knock on the shoulder for his troubles, “What??”

 

“It wasn’t a date.” he muttered.

 

Tooru rolled his eyes, “Of  _ course _ it wasn’t. How could it be with me and Tobio there? Hence why I said  _ next _ time.”

 

Iwaizumi clicked his tongue, reclining into the seat.

 

“...I don’t understand why you’re getting annoyed with me. You already admitted to liking him, so what the hell’s your problem?” maybe he was embarrassed? That was a possibility. Tooru wasn’t accustomed to dealing with his best friend when he was actually  _ interested _ in someone. Was this what Iwa-chan-with-a-crush was like? How horrible.

 

When Iwaizumi looked away from him rather than responding, Oikawa encroached on the other’s space by sliding himself as close to the other bench as he could without leaving his own. It was plain as day that Iwa was going out of his way to hide his face from him, which further solidified the possibility that ‘embarrassment’ was the issue at hand, “...Shou-chan seems like a pretty decent guy.” even if he was annoying to face off against on the court, “You should ask him out properly. Y’know. Not just ‘hey let’s hang out’, but tell him you’re interested.” he knew it wasn’t necessarily that easy, from experience, but it was something that needed to be done if Hajime planned on gaining any sort of traction towards an actual relationship with the crow.

 

It seemed like the other was going to blow him off again, and Tooru opened his mouth to try one more time--before being cut off, “...After nationals.” Iwaizumi spoke up, “Before your surgery...the four of us should go out together one more time.”

 

Oikawa’s lips thinned at the mention of his surgery. It was getting closer all the time, and he wasn’t at all prepared for it...but, the sooner it happened, the sooner he could start to heal and get back on the court again, “...That’s cheating.” he huffed, rolling his shoulders, “But, fine. If they lose, I’ll get to tease Tobio-chan~.” if they won, though...well, he’d be annoyed, but he’d feel a little less bad about his team losing to them. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been on the court with Seijou when the loss had happened. His teammates were still plenty strong without him there, “...And, if you’re forcing me to spend time with Tobio again, you’re paying my way.”

 

Hajime scoffed, finally turning to look at his friend with the lingering hint of pink on his cheeks, “Fine.”

 

“ _ Fine _ .” Tooru barked back. The two of them stared each other down for several seconds before they both seemed to soften up at once, lightly chuckling at themselves, “You’re an idiot, I hope you know.”

 

“Takes one to know one.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

Their bus showed up shortly after, the two ‘idiots’ climbing aboard and talking about far lighter topics on the trip back home. Though he fell in line with the easy banter, Tooru could feel a lump of unease slowly building at the base of his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally did a thing again! I may take forever to get a chapter out, but I'm never giving up on this story. ♥


	15. A Return to Normality

School was an exhausting experience. Oikawa had only returned to classes three days prior, and already he felt like he was running on fumes. His body was exhausted. He couldn’t focus. He ached to his very core. And, on top of everything else, he had nothing to look forward to when the school day was over. Not that that stopped him from peeking into the gym to check how practice was going.

 

Or...not going? There were a few second string members tossing a ball around, but the gym was otherwise quiet. He had an inkling to step away and take himself home. Despite having been back for a few days already, he was still receiving those _pitying_ looks from his classmates. He didn’t need to see those kinds of faces on his former teammates. One step backwards, and he was suddenly being thrust _forwards_ into the gym instead. Oikawa tripped over himself and sent an accusatory look back to whomever might have pushed him - only to come face to face with Hajime and the meme team.

 

“Rude.” he muttered.

 

“You looked like you wanted to go in, so we gave you a helping hand.” Makki smirked.

 

“Come on.” Iwaizumi piped up, throwing an arm around his friend’s higher shoulders and dragging him along to their club room where a group of their teammates were huddled around a television.

 

Yahaba was spouting out this and that in audible annoyance, but everyone else appeared to be watching in earnest quiet at the moment. The third years made very little noise as they shuffled in and took up seats themselves. They weren’t completely unnoticed, but none of those sitting in the back of the room said anything about their entry.

 

“Looks like Tsubakihara is giving Karasuno a hard time.” Oikawa hummed, maybe a little _pleased_ by that fact. There was a part of him that wanted to see the crows win because it’d make him feel _less_ shit about Seijou losing, but the idea of Tobio succeeding beyond what he already had was irksome as well. Such a conundrum.

 

“O-oikawa-san.” Kindaichi was the first to verbally acknowledge him as he turned around in his seat. Any others who hadn’t already _seen_ the third years enter were now looking in their direction, “Are you…”

 

A grin spread over the former captain’s lips, lifting a peace sign with two fingers beside his sallow face, “Never been better.” his kouhai may not have gotten his entire sentiment out, but Tooru had an idea of where he’d been going with it, “That’s obviously a lie. But, I’m not dying, so there’s no reason to concern yourself with me~. Get back to watching the game.” his hand dropped back to his lap as he settled in. He’d honestly been expecting someone to say something _more_ , but he was grateful to find that none of the others did anything of the sort. Maybe his teammates were more understanding than he gave them credit for?

 

***

 

It was after Karasuno won and the game had been over for some time that a text came in to Iwaizumi’s phone. The grin that spread over his lips spoke volumes as to who it’d come from, “The shrimp sending you love letters~?” Oikawa hummed out, visibly amused.

 

“Oi! Shut up!” Hajime barked back.

 

They’d set off on their walk back home, so it wasn’t as though anyone was within listening distance beyond the two of them, but the ace looked embarrassed all the same, “Is that a no, then?” Oikawa teased.

 

“Of course it’s a no, dumbass!” Iwaizumi growled, thumbing through the messages he’d received, “He just wanted to know if we were watching the game. He’s pretty pumped.”

 

“Well, wouldn’t you be?” Tooru emphasized, “They’re at nationals and they’re still on a winning streak.” he knew _he’d_ be positively _thrilled_ to be in that position. Though, to be fair, the shrimp almost _always_ seemed to be pumped about something or another. He lived in that perpetual state, and it only intensified when he got on the court, “You should _congratulate_ him.” it may have ticked him off to see Tobio doing so well, but he knew some ‘congratulations’ from Iwaizumi would do wonders to get him closer to Hinata.

 

“Yeah...probably…” Hajime muttered, tapping the edge of his phone with his thumb for a moment in quiet agitation before plucking at the keys on screen to do as his friend has suggested.

 

“There’s a good boy--ow!” he exaggeratedly winced when the other’s elbow met his side, whining plaintively, “Mean, Iwa-chan. Here I am trying to help you get into Shou-chan’s good graces, and you go and _wound_ m--OW!!” Oikawa put some space between them when another jab came, rubbing at his side, “Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll stop.” maybe. The smirk on his lips read ‘probably not’, but he’d give it a rest for the time being.

 

It was less than a minute after Hajime had sent his response out that his phone pinged to let him know he had a new message - this time, it came in the form of a selfie. Hinata was fixing the camera with a smile and a peace sign. Kageyama stood at his side as plain as ever. They were both sweat drenched and maybe just a little exhausted, but they had plenty more to go.

 

 _Thanks!_ Was the short text that came along with it.

 

“Tobio really doesn’t know how to smile, does he?” Oikawa said as he peeked over Iwaizumi’s shoulder, “What is he, a statue?” honestly. He was so awkward, it was a wonder the kid could even function in society.

 

“A sweaty statue.” the former ace added, a flicker of amusement on his features.

 

“Sort of like those crying Virgin Mary statues. Only this one is spongy and smells like corn chips.”

 

Both of them slowed to a stop at once and exchanged a look before promptly laughing on the spot, “The hell?” Iwaizumi all but snorted before he was continuing on his way, amusement still ringing out between them.

 

***

 

The rest of the week went as well as could be expected. Oikawa had returned to the club room each day after school to witness what became of nationals. They didn’t _only_ watch Karasuno’s games, but those were obviously the ones everyone was more into. Because the crows were their _rivals_ now. It seemed like everyone in Seijou wanted to see them succeed. He was loathe to admit as much aloud, but even Tooru was rooting for them in his own right. If Karasuno won, he could only imagine how _good_ it’d be for his kouhais when they fought - and hopefully won - against the crows _next_ year.

 

When Friday rolled around, Oikawa had to leave Seijou early due to his checkup. His mother came to pick him up just before lunch, and the two of them went together to the doctor’s office. Given the gravity of the appointment, Tooru was in a remarkably good mood. Maybe it was the fact that he’d been _out_ of the house more often than _in_ that week? Or maybe it was because he’d gotten the chance to watch some games? Whatever the reason, he was an absolute _delight_ for the blood and imaging technicians. Blood work wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, but he could tolerate it well enough.

 

All in all, things seemed to be going well. Tooru was feeling better. His pain had lessened. He was keeping food down, and he wasn’t nearly as lethargic as he had been when the whole arduous process had begun. The results of the blood tests wouldn’t be back for at least twenty-four hours, so they didn’t go home with immediate answers, but they _did_ head out feeling a bit better about the situation.

 

“What would you say to katsudon tonight?” Oikawa’s mother said, breaking the silence during their trip home.

 

“Katsudon sounds great.” Tooru cast a smile her way before looking back down to his phone as he sent off the text he’d been typing up to give Iwaizumi an update, “Really great.”

 

***

 

Saturday and Sunday were largely spent being a couch potato. The week had really taken it out of him, but that wasn’t a surprise to anyone. He’d heard about Karasuno’s big win, but he’d yet to actually pull the game up and  _ watch _ it. His second day off was halfway over, and Tooru was just starting to nod off in the middle of some daytime TV, when his phone began vibrating insistently in his pocket.

 

“Noooo…” he groaned as he fumbled for it. When he saw the name on screen, he was half tempted to  _ throw _ it, but decided not to at the last second, “I was about to fall to sleep.” Oikawa huffed groggily, “Why couldn’t you just text me?”

 

“Sorry, Oikawa-san.” Kageyama responded.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Just get it out already.” he muttered into the receiver, using the couch to hold the cell against his ear so his arms could lay out like noodles at his sides.

 

“Can I come over?”

 

The question caught Tooru off guard, to say the least. His brows furrowed, and he waited a moment or two to actually respond before mustering up a short, “No.” why the hell would he even want to? There was no way Tobio wasn’t exhausted from nationals.

 

“...Oh.” 

 

“What were you expecting?”

 

“Nothing.” Tobio paused, hesitating a moment before continuing, “I’m near your house.”

 

Tooru frowned, “...Why?”

 

“It just happened.”

 

“It just...happened?”

 

“Yes.”

 

There was silence on both ends of the line for far too many seconds before Tooru abruptly sputtered out a laugh, “What’s up with that?” he exhaled, the sound hollowing  out into an annoyed - but still somewhat amused - sigh, “You can’t stay long, but if you show up I’m not going to shut the door in your face. How about that?”

 

Tobio’s voice brightened with his response, and Tooru could practically  _ hear _ him nodding his head, “Okay!”

 

Oikawa didn’t try for any sort of ‘farewell’, simply hanging the phone up and shoving it right back into his pocket. A mourning sound issued from him, muffling it into the couch as he pressed face first into the cushions. Maybe if he stayed like that long enough the air would get thin and he could just pass out and play opossum when Tobio showed up? It was after that ridiculous thought played out in his head that the doorbell rang.

 

“...Just how ‘near’ my house were you?” he muttered beneath his breath, begrudgingly dragging himself up from the couch to get the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD YET! HUZZAH!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfic in like...two decades, but I just have a lot of feelings and I needed to vomit this story out somewhere. I'm much more accustomed to roleplaying than writing on my own, so I'm not sure how well this is going to go! Fingers crossed.
> 
> Feel free to comment or to leave constructive criticism (please be gentle)!
> 
> Oh, and thanks for reading!


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